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OUR  EUROPEAN  NEIGHBOURS 

French  Life 

German  Life 

Russian  Life 

Dutch  Life 

Swiss  Life 

Spanish  Life 
Italian  Life 

Danish  Life 

Austro^Hungarian  Life 

Turkish  Life 

Belgian  Life 

Swedish  Life 


OUR  EUROPEAN 
NEIGHBOURS 

EDITED   BY 

WILLIAM  HARBUTT  DAWSON 


SWISS  LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND 
COUNTRY 


COWHERD  ON  HIS  WAY  TO  THE  SUMMER  PASTURES 


SWISS  LIFE 
IN  TOWN  AND 
COUNTRY  &  ^ 


By  Alfred  Thomas  Story 

AUTHOR    OF 
"THE   BUILDING   OF   THE   BRITISH  EMPIRE,"    ETC. 


ILLUSTRATED 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S   SONS 
NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON 

Ebe  fcnicf^erbocl^er  ftees 


Ij 


Copyright,  1902 

BY 

G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 

Set  up,  electrotyped,  and  printed  January,  1902 
Reprinted,  March,  1902;  October,  1902;  March   1904 
October,  1905  ;  March,  1909 
January,  191 1  ;  February,  igit  ;  May,  1911 
November,  1911  r 


♦         •! 


Ubc  "ftnf cfterbocfter*  ptcBSt  Ittew  IJotft 


~«  9    •      *        A 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I 

PAGB 
SwlTZERIvAND  AND  THE  SwiSS  ....  I 

CHAPTER  II 
The  StruggIvE  with  Nature       ....      12 

CHAPTER  III 
The  Sovereignty  of  the  Peopi^e      ...      29 

CHAPTER  IV 
The  Gemeinden  and  the  Landsgemeinden    .      46 

CHAPTER  V 
PuBWC  Education 61 

CHAPTER  VI 
PHI1.ANTHROPIC  Work 78 

CHAPTER  VII 
Nationai.  Industry -93 

CHAPTER  VIII 
The  Cui^ture  of  the  Vine 106 

CHAPTER  IX 
Life  and  Work  in  the  Alps       ....    117 

V 

.39533? 


vi  Contents 

CHAPTER   X 

PAGE 

Cantonai,  Life  and  Character  .        .       .        .131 

CHAPTER  XI 
Swiss  Women  and  Swiss  Homes         .       .       .152 

CHAPTER  Xn 
Swiss  Chii^dren i73 

CHAPTER  XIII 
M11.1TARY  System 184 

CHAPTER  XIV 

WORKINGMEN'S  SOCIETIES  AND  Co-OPERATION      .      I94 

CHAPTER  XV 
Religious  Life  and  Inei^uences         .       .       .    208 

CHAPTER  XVI 

POPUI.AR  FfeTES  AND  FESTIVAI3      .  .  .  .221 

CHAPTER  XVII 
Literature  and  the  Press         .       .       .       .243 

CHAPTER  XVIII 
Types  and  Characters 257 

Index 273 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Cowherd  on  his  way  to  the  Summer  Pastures 

Frontispiece 

A  Farmhouse  in  the  Bernese  Oberi<and        .      114 

GaIvI^ery  through  the  Mountains    ...      26 

FEMAI.E  Costume,  Thurgau 48 

A  Woman  of  Appenzeli.  at  her  Embroidery 

Frame 48 

Herdsman  of  Appenzei.i.-Inner-Rhoden  .       .      58 

Swiss  Schooi.-Chii.dren 62 

A  Basei.  Woman  at  Work 82 

A  Grape-Gatherer  of  Vaud       .       .       .       .112 

A  Woman  of  the  Canton  of  Berne.        .        .112 

In  The  Summer  Pastures 128 

Costume  of  Canton  Schwyz        .       .       .       .146 

Tessin  Woman 146 

A  Swiss  MiIvKman 180 

vii 


viii  Illustrations 

PAGE 

Swiss  Soldiers  Preparing  to  Camp  .  .  .188 
A  Woman  of  Unterwai^den  ....  204 
A  Woman  of  Canton  St.  Gai.1.  ....    204 

A  Swiss  House 230 

Summer  Pastures  in  the  Mountains  .  .  250 
Swiss  Guides .258 


SWISS  LIFE  m  TOWN  AND 
COUNTRY 


SWISS  LIFE  IN  TOWN 
AND  COUNTRY 


CHAPTER  I 


SWITZERLAND  AND  THK  SWISS 


VERY  different  are  the  thoughts  and  emotions 
called  up  by  the  word  ' '  Switzerland ' '  in  the 
minds  of  different  people.  To  the  tourist,  passing 
more  or  less  rapidly  through  the  country,  it  is 
one  thing  —  a  tour  amid  the  grandiose  and  pict- 
uresque, an  ever-changing  panorama,  perhaps  a 
hurry  and  a  scurry  from  one  scene  of  interest  or 
beauty  to  another,  not  unmixed  in  the  end  with 
utter  languor  and  fatigue.  To  the  one,  however, 
who  has  chanced  to  pitch  his  tent  in  Switzerland 
for  a  season,  who  has  lived  the  life  of  the  people, 
and  known  it  in  all  its  lights  and  shadows,  how 
different  to  him  is  the  impression  aroused  by  the 
sight  or  sound  of  the  name! 

It  may  be  that  the  first  image  thereby  evoked 
is  one  of  mountains,  white   and   shining  in  the 


2  Swiss  Life 

eternity  of  their  snows,  or  of  lakes  blue  as  lapu 
lazuli  set  in  frames  of  dazzling  emerald.  But  it  is 
soon  followed  by  pictures  and  reverberations  of  a 
life  varied  as  a  kaleidoscope,  and  yet  withal  sim- 
ple and  sincere  as  perhaps  can  anywhere  be  found 
in  this  modern  world  of  ours.  That  to  me  is  the 
^note  of  Swiss  life — its  simplicity  and  its  sincerity 
The  same  characteristics  are  to  be  met  with,  of 
course,  in  other  countries  and  amongst  other  peo- 
ples J^ut  I  know  of  no  people  in  whom  one  finds 
the  s^e  qualities  so  generally  distributed  and  of 
so  marked  a  typ^^mThose  whose  acquaintance 
with  the  country  has  been  derived  only  from  liv- 
ing in  hotels,  thus  coming  in  contact  mainly  with 
hotel-keepers  and  their  entourage,  may  find  a 
difficulty  in  accepting  this  view  of  the  Swiss;  for 
in  Switzerland,  as  elsewhere,  hotel-keepers  are  al- 
ways human,  and  not  unfrequently  extortionate. 
They  do  not  always  ' '  live  up  to  the  beauty  of 
their  mountains,"  as  an  American  lady  once  re- 
marked to  me,  which  is  no  doubt  a  sad  fault;  but 
it  may  be  said  of  others  besides  the  Swiss  that 
they  do  not  uniformly  show  themselves  at  their 
best. 

In  the  case  of  the  Swiss  the  contrast  is  more 
apparent  than  real.  Their  mountains  are  so  mag- 
nificent— everything  in  their  midst  in  the  realm 
of  nature  is  pitched,  as  it  were,  in  so  high  a  key 
— that  man  appears  to  be  dwarfed.  But  if,  on  the 
one  hand,  beauty  of  scenery  and  grandeur  of  pro- 
spect are  on  so  lavish  a  scale,  on  the  other  hand 


Switzerland  and  the  Swiss        3 

the  presence  of  those  very  features  in  such  ma- 
jesty and  abundance  tends  to  the  impoverishment 
of  the  country  in  respect  to  the  first  essentials  of 
life.  Men  cannot  live  on  towering  peaks,  on 
snow-clad  mountain-ranges,  on  glittering  pin- 
nacles of  chrysoprase  and  amethyst.  Such  things 
may  lend  a  charm  to  life,  and  tend  to  enlarge  the 
soul,  but  neither  their  charm  nor  their  moral 
influence  can  be  felt  where  life  is  reduced  to  a 
sordid  and  never-ending  struggle  for  the  mere 
wherewithal  to  keep  body  and  soul  together. 
That  such  is  the  condition  of  life  in  many  parts 
of  Switzerland  those  who  really  know  the  country 
are  well  aware.  Fortunate  is  it  that  the  same 
conditions  do  not  obtain  in  all  the  cantons.  In 
some  the  soil  is  more  generous,  and  life  is  in  con- 
sequence easier;  but,'^ken  at  its  best,  Switzer- 
land is  a  poor  country,  and  though  it  may 
exploit  its  scenery  and  its  charms,  the  wealth  it 
attracts  by  such  means  does  not  make  up  for  its 
poverty  of  natural  resources,  as  compared  with 
other  and  even  adjacent  countries. 

As  is  the  case  with  most  other  nationalities,  the 
Swiss  are  not  a  homogeneous  people.  When 
Csesar  invaded  the  country  it  was  inhabited  chiefly 
by  two  tribes,  known  as  the  Rhseti  and  the  Hel- 
vetii.  They  were  of  Celtic  origin,  and  such  was 
the  indomitable  opposition  the  latter  in  especial 
gave  to  their  Roman  foes,  that  they  became  so 
decimated  as  never  again  to  be  in  a  position 
to  raise  their  heads  as  a  separate  people.     The 


4  Swiss  Life 

Romans  remained  for  over  three  hundred  years 
in  the  country,  and  doubtless  left  their  permanent 
mark  upon  the  population  of  the  land,  as  well  as 
upon  its  arts  and  customs.  They  at  least  intro- 
duced the  vine,  and  its  cultivation  has  ever  since 
been  one  of  the  leading  features  of  Swiss  industry. 
As  the  Empire  began  to  totter  to  its  fall,  Helvetia 
was  overrun  by  hordes  of  Alemanni  and  Burgun- 
dians,  who  thenceforward  became  the  permanent 
occupiers  of  the  land.  The  former  appear  to  have 
been  the  sturdier  and  fiercer  people,  and  probably 
it  was  they  who  gave  those  tougher  and  more 
enduring  elements  to  the  character  which  we  as- 
sociate with  the  Swiss  to  the  present  time.  They 
preserved  their  ancient  tongue,  while  the  Burgun- 
dians,  a  milder  race,  adopted  the  language  of  the 
conquered  people.  Hence  it  arose  that  we  have 
to-day  the  two  broadly  defined  limits  of  the  Ger- 
man- and  the  French-speaking  cantons,  or  dis- 
tricts, for  the  dividing  line  does  not  always 
coincide  with  cantonal  boundaries. 

French  and  German  are  not,,  however,  the  only 
languages  spoken  by  the  Swiss.  In  the  canton 
of  Tessin  (or  Ticino,  from  the  river  of  that  name 
flowing  through  it)  Italian  is  spoken;  while  in 
parts  of  the  Grisons  (or  Graubiinden)  another  off- 
shoot of  the  ancient  Latin  tongue,  called  the  Ro- 
mansch,  is  spoken.  According  to  the  most  recent 
estimate,  71.3  per  cent,  of  the  people  speak  Ger- 
man, 21.4  per  cent,  speak  French,  5,6  per  cent, 
speak  Italian,  and  1.4  per  cent.  Romansch,  the 


Switzerland  and  the  Swiss        5 

remaining  0.4  per  cent,  speaking  other  tongues. 
The  German  language  is  spoken  in  the  middle, 
the  north,  and  east  of  Switzerland;  that  is,  in  the 
four  Forest  Cantons,  in  Soleure,  Aargau,  Basel, 
Zurich,  Thurgau,  SchafFhausen,  St.  Gall,  Appen- 
zell,  and  Glarus,  in  five  sixths  of  Berne,  in  the 
eastern  part  of  Freiburg,  the  north-east  of  Grau- 
biinden,  and  in  parts  of  the  Italian  districts  which 
in  early  times  were  conquered  and  held  in  sub- 
jection by  the  people  of  Schwyz,  Uri,  and  Unter- 
walden.  French  is  spoken  in  Neuchatel,  Vaud, 
Geneva,  and  Lower  Valais,  in  the  greater  part  of 
the  canton  of  Freiburg,  and  in  the  Bernese  Jura. 
Italian  is  spoken  in  Tessin  and  in  those  parts  of 
the  Grisons  bordering  upon  the  Po.  Romansch 
is  confined  to  the  Grisons,  where  even  several 
newspapers  are  printed  in  that  tongue.  ^  Ro- 
mansch is  one  of  those  languages  which,  after  the 
disruption  of  the  Roman  Empire,  became  gradu- 
ally differentiated  from  the  Latin.)  It  was  at  one 
time  the  common  speech  of  the  Old  Roman  pro- 
vince of  Rhaetia,  which  included  the  districts 
wherein  it  is  now  spoken,  the  Tyrol,  and  the  con- 
tiguous parts  of  Switzerland  and  South  Germany. 
iThe  comparative  inaccessibility  of  the  district  in 
which  it  still  lingers  will  account  for  its  having 
continued  to  exist  there  long  after  its  disappear- 
ance from  the  neighbouring  regions.^ 

Taking  them  as  a  whole,  the  Swiss  are  a  strong 
and  healthy  race  of  men,  although  in  many  dis- 
tricts the  unfavourable  influence  of  the  factory, 


6  Swiss  Life 

and  still  more  that  of  alcohol,  have  made  them- 
selves felt.  Goitre  and  cretinism,  too,  are  unfor- 
tunately very  prevalent  in  some  parts,  although 
not  to  the  alarming  extent  which  was  formerly 
the  case.  Goitre  is  more  common  among  the 
women  than  among  the  men,  especially  on  the 
northern  side  of  the  Alps.  In  the  canton  of  Va- 
lais  it  is  extremely  prevalent,  and  a  few  years  ago 
it  was  rare  to  see  a  woman  who  did  not  bear  the 
marks  of  it  in  the  form  of  what  in  Derbyshire,  from 
its  prevalence  there,  is  known  as  the  "  Derby- 
shire neck."  But  though  the  swelling  is  else- 
where regarded  as  a  great  disfigurement,  here  it 
was  looked  upon  as,  in  a  sort,  a  beauty  trait,  and 
those  who  had  not  got  it  were  laughed  at  as  being 
**  goose-necked."  On  the  southern  side  of  the 
Alps  the  Val  d'Aosta  is  noted  for  its  goitrous 
subjects.  At  Domo  d'Ossola  the  men  are  said  to 
be  the  chief  sufferers.  The  disease,  however,  is 
much  less  common  than  it  was,  thanks,  in  part, 
to  the  care  which  the  French  have  taken  to  rem- 
edy the  evil  in  the  neighbouring  parts  of  Savoy, 
but  in  part  also  to  the  very  great  attention  which 
has  of  late  years  been  given  to  matters  of  hygiene 
in  Switzerland. 

Cretinism  also  appears  to  be  on  the  decrease. 
It  used  to  be  very  prevalent  in  certain  districts, 
especially  in  the  lower  lands  and  vales  in  which 
goitre  was  common.  In  those  parts  it  was  at  one 
time  extremely  painful  for  visitors  to  see  so  many 
of  these   congenital  idiots  sprawling   about  and 


Switzerland  and  the  Swiss         ^ 

often  begging  by  the  waj^side.  They  are  not  now 
so  conspicuous  as  formerly,  partly  because  there 
are  more  institutions  for  their  reception,  and  also 
because  the  evil  is  not  so  common  as  it  was  a  gen- 
eration or  two  ago.  Frequent  intermarriage  in 
the  same  family  is  held  to  be  the  most  fruitful 
cause  of  cretinism;  but  one  can  have  very  little 
doubt  that  intemperance  also  has  much  to  do  with 
the  curse,  especially  when  we  learn  that,  while 
scarlet  fever  and  typhoid  combined  carry  oflf  no 
more  than  339  victims  a  year  throughout  Switzer- 
land, alcohol  in  the  form  of  wine  and  beer  alone 
is  accountable,  directly  or  indirectly,  for  465 
deaths.  These  scourges  apart,  however,  the  Swiss 
are,  as  a  rule,  well  built  and  remarkably  tough  of 
fibre,  especially  those  engaged  in  agriculture. 
The  average  length  of  life  is  40.6  years,  and  the 
proportion  of  males  to  females  is  49  per  cent,  to 
51.  For  myself,  having  spent  a  very  considerable 
time  in  the  country,  and  having  been  brought  into 
intimate  touch  with  the  people,  both  as  regards 
their  social  and  their  political  life,  I  conceived 
the  very  highest  respect,  and  even  admiration,  for 
them,  and  that  not  onlj^  for  what  they  have  been, 
but  for  what  they  are.  They  form  a  unique  peo- 
ple, and  may  truly  be  said  to  have  as  their  home 
a  unique  country. 

Switzerland  forms  one  of  the  smallest  states  of 
Europe,  being  little  more  than  half  the  size  of 
Scotland,  and  is  almost  the  only  one  whose  history 
is  the  history  of  its  people.     It  is  the  centre  of  its 


8  Swiss  Life 

grandest  natural  scenery,  the  birthplace  of  four  of 
its  best-known  and  most  considerable  rivers,  and 
has  for  centuries  enjoyed  the  special  distinction  of 
being  the  home  of  democracy  and  freedom.  The 
name  is  derived  from  that  of  one  of  its  smallest 
cantons,  Schwyz,  the  inhabitants  of  which  took  a 
leading  part  in  the  emancipation  of  the  country 
from  the  Austrian  yoke  in  the  early  part  of  the 
fourteenth  century.  The  country  is  enclosed  on 
the  north  by  Germany,  on  the  east  by  Austria,  on 
the  south  by  Italy  and  France,  and  on  the  west 
by  France.  Its  northern  border  is  defined  gener- 
ally by  the  Rhine  and  the  Lake  of  Constance;  its 
eastern  by  the  Rhine  and  the  diverging  ranges  of 
the  Alps;  the  southern  limit  of  the  country  is 
marked  by  the  grand  chain  of  the  High  Alps,  em- 
bracing the  Pennine,  the  Lapontine,  and  the 
Rhsetian  divisions;  and  the  western  by  the  Doubs 
and  the  ridges  of  the  Jura.  Between  these  bound- 
aries lies  the  irregular  oval-shaped  area  of  Swit- 
zerland, whose  length  from  east  to  west,  reckoning 
from  Piz  Ciavalatch  (in  the  Grisons)  to  Nant  de 
Vosogne  (Geneva),  is  a  little  more  that  two 
hundred  miles,  its  greatest  breadth  from  north  to 
south  (Oberbargen,  Schaffhausen,  to  Pedrinate, 
Tessin)  being  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  miles. 
The  total  area  of  the  country  comprises  15,981 
square  miles,  of  which  three  fourths  may  be  said 
to  drain  into  the  basin  of  the  Rhine  (including  its 
tributary  the  Aar),  one  sixth  into  that  of  the 
Rhone,  one  twelfth  into  that  of  the  Po  (through 


Switzerland  and  the  Swiss        9 

the  Ticino),  and  one  twenty-secondth  part  into 
that  of  the  Danube  (through  the  Inn). 

Rarely  is  such  a  variety  of  hfe  and  of  manners, 
and  hence  of  character,  found  in  so  small  an  area. 
On  the  one  side  we  have  in  Geneva  a  city  and  a 
population  that  resembles  Paris  of  to-day  in  its 
brightness,  its  esprit,  and  Athens  of  old  in  its  cul- 
ture and  democracy.  Near-lying  Lausanne  is  like 
nothing  but  itself,  a  city  flourishing  because  of 
the  youth  and  beauty  it  attracts  within  its  walls. 
According  to  its  size,  the  capital  of  Vaud  has  per- 
haps the  largest  foreign  population  of  any  town 
in  Switzerland — drawn  thither  in  the  main  be- 
cause of  the  exceptional  facilities  it  affords  for  the 
education  of  the  young  in  all  branches  of  study. 
Hundreds  of  young  people  from  all  parts  of  the 
world  throng  its  various  educational  institutions, 
giving  to  the  old  city  an  aspect  of  youth  and 
gaiety  that  is  not  easily  forgotten. 

From  these  western  cities  to  Schaffhausen  is 
not  a  far  cry;  but  to  be  transported  from  the 
shores  of  Lake  Leman  to  the  quaint  old  streets  of 
the  Rhine  city  is,  on  the  first  view,  like  getting  a 
peep  into  mediaeval  times,  especially  if,  towards 
the  close  of  an  October  day,  one  sees  the  heavy 
drays,  laden  with  casks  that  shed  around  a  fra- 
grance of  new^  wine,  draw  up  in  front  of  quaintly 
gabled  and  antiquely  frescoed  houses,  into  whose 
dark  though  pleasantly  dreamful  cellars  they  dis- 
charge their  bounteous  vats. 

Different,  again,  almost  as  night  from  day,  is  the 


lo  Swiss  Life 

life  presented  to  us  if  we  cross  the  St.  Gothard 
and  drop  down  into  poor,  though  beautiful,  Tes- 
sin,  with  its  vine-clad  slopes  and  its  groves  of 
century-old  chestnuts,  bounteous  in  the  shade 
they  afford  and  the  food  they  yield  to  the  hard- 
working peasantry.  They  have  a  proverb  to  the 
effect  that  ' '  so  many  flies  as  summer  produces,  so 
many  chestnuts  will  there  be  in  the  year's  har- 
vest." Hard  is  it  for  the  poor  toilers  if,  accord- 
ing to  this  saying,  the  flies  fail,  since  so  large  a 
proportion  of  their  food  comes  from  the  chestnut 
tree.  The  fruit  is  eaten  both  boiled  or  brasch — 
that  is,  roasted  on  the  gridiron.  The  gathering 
of  the  chestnuts  takes  place  in  October,  and  is 
usually  a  gay  time  for  the  peasant  and  his  family, 
all  joining  in  the  work  and  sport. 

Travel  through  the  country  from  Basel  to  Lu- 
gano, from  Geneva  to  the  Grisons;  study  the  an- 
nals of  the  country  from  the  earliest  time  to  the 
present  day,  and  no  one  will  wonder  at  the  variety 
of  type  and  character  that  is  to  be  found  within  its 
borders,  or  at  the  contrasts  of  political  and  social 
life  which  it  presents  on  every  side.  This  contrast 
is  everywhere  the  most  marked  feature.  Life 
amid  the  Higher  Alps  is  very  different  from  that 
in  the  lower  plains  and  valleys,  or  in  the  specially 
characteristic  Voralpen.  Amid  the  snowy  peaks, 
by  the  side  of  the  yellow,  rolling  glacier-streams, 
where  the  green  pastures  stretch  upwards  from 
the  vales  below  to  meet  them,  here  are  found 
numberless  little  hamlets  and  lonely  dwellings, 


Switzerland  and  the  Swiss       n 

the  homes  of  lowly  herdsmen  and  mountaineers. 
Though  these  people,  as  has  been  well  said,  have 
their  joys  and  their  delights,  they  are  attuned  to 
a  soberer  measure  than  those  of  the  dwellers  in 
the  lyower  Alps.  Amid  the  perilous  heights  of 
the  great  central  mountains  the  joyful  song  that 
may  be  heard  lower  down  is  apt  to  give  place  to 
a  prayer  that  house  and  all  that  is  most  dear  to 
the  heart  may  not  in  the  night  be  swallowed  up 
by  the  awful  avalanche  or  the  still  more  terrible 
landslip  : 


(( 


Look  kindly  down  when  we  are  sunk  in  sleep, 
And  guard  our  roof!  " 


CHAPTER  II 


THE  STRUGGI.K  WITH   NATURE) 


I  HAVE  said  that  amid  the  Higher  Alps  life 
becomes  subdued  to  a  perpetual  supplication. 
Man  in  those  sublime  regions,  where  Nature  in 
her  most  terrific  moods  is,  as  it  were,  mingled 
with  his  daily  toil,  feels,  as  perhaps  nowhere  else, 
how  puny  he  is  and  how  helpless.  It  is  man's 
task  everywhere  to  subdue  the  earth,  to  make  it 
amenable  to  his  hands;  but,  despite  all  his  toils, 
its  ancient  savagery  remains,  and  ever  and  anon, 
even  where  most  under  subjection,  it  breaks  out 
in  revolt  and,  as  with  a  mock  at  human  art, 
spreads  devastation  and  ruin  on  every  side.  If 
this  be  the  case  in  other  lands,  how  much  more 
so  in  Switzerland!  There  the  eternal  struggle  is 
never  for  a  moment  intermitted.  Even  when  Na- 
ture is  the  most  seductive  and  enticing,  she  is  the 
most  to  be  feared.  The  sun  may  be  shining  in 
beauty  upon  the  "  heaven-kissing"  peaks,  trans- 
forming them  into  images  the  most  elevating  and 
refining  ;  but  while  it  is  doing  so  it  may  be 
setting  loose  the  terrific  avalanche,  or  it  maj?^  be 
preparing  for  the  downpour  of  a  devastating  flood. 


12 


The  Struggle  with  Nature      13 

Few  who  have  not  lived  in  the  country  know 
how  much  the  life  of  the  people  is  mixed  up  with 
these  disasters,  how  much  their  history  is  a  re- 
cord of  such  disasters,  or  of  efforts  to  prevent  or 
minimise  their  effects.  Even  as  I  write  a  news- 
paper reaches  me  in  which  it  is  stated  that  in  con- 
sequence of  the  threatening  aspect  of  a  mountain 
above  Schwanden,  near  the  I^ake  of  Brienz,  in  the 
Bernese  Oberland,  the  people  of  that  hamlet  had 
been  ordered  by  the  local  authorities  to  quit  their 
dwellings  and  remove  to  safer  quarters.  Jarely 
had  they  done  so  before  a  huge  mass  of  rock  be- 
came detached  from  an  overhanging  peak,  and 
leapt  with  a  roar  as  of  thunder  down  the  moun- 
tain side.  Many  are  the  villages  that  have,  even 
within  living  memory,  been  swept  wholly  or  in 
part  to  destruction  by  such  catastrophes,  while 
the  total  number  of  villages  that  have  been  thus 
overwhelmed  is  beyond  count. 

Sometimes  the  visitation  takes  the  form  of  an 
avalanche,  sometimes  of  a  landslip.  Accumulat- 
ing in  immense  quantities  in  the  upper  regions, 
the  snowy  masses  become  detached  from  the 
steep  declivities  by  their  own  weight,  or  are 
loosened  by  the  solar  heat,  and  thence  descend, 
acquiring  greater  dimensions  and  increased  speed 
as  they  go,  until  finally  brought  to  rest  in  the 
subjacent  valleys.  The  fearful  uproar  which  ac- 
companies their  downfall  is  often  heard  at  a  dis- 
tance of  several  leagues. 

The  natives  of  the  Alpine  regions  distinguish 


14  Swiss  Life 

between  several  kinds  of  avalanche,  or  Lawi?ie,  as 
the  phenomenon  is  called  in  the  German  tongue. 
The  Staublawine,  or  dust  avalanche,  is  formed  of 
the  light  surface  snow,  recently  fallen,  which, 
when  once  set  in  motion,  quickly  increases  in 
quantity  and  in  the  velocity  of  its  fall,  until,  light 
as  dust  though  it  be  in  its  particles,  it  becomes 
irresistible  in  its  might,  and  practically  carries 
ever34hing  before  it.  Such  avalanches  have  been 
known  to  sweep  through  miles  of  country  before 
their  force  has  been  finally  spent.  Entire  forests 
are  sometimes  destroyed  by  the  fury  of  their  im- 
pact, though  these  forests  are,  as  a  rule,  regarded 
as  the  best  protection  against  them,  and  are  now 
cared  for  and  cultivated  for  that  especial  purpose. 

Besides  the  Staub  there  is  the  Schleich  (or  slide) 
avalanche,  and  the  Schlaglawine  {Schlag  meaning 
a  heavy  stroke  or  blow).  They  indicate  but  dif- 
ferent forms  of  the  same  thing.  A  sliding  ava- 
lanche may  at  any  moment  be  transformed  from 
its  slowly  slipping,  almost  imperceptible  motion, 
into  one  of  great  velocity.  Suddenly  the  moving 
mass  will  break  up  into  detached  portions,  which 
will  leap  down  the  mountainside  with  a  roar  as  of 
thunder.  Rocks  are  crushed  into  fragments  by 
these  rushing  masses,  trees  are  torn  up  by  their 
roots,  the  beds  of  streams  are  filled  up,  whereby 
floods  are  occasioned,  and  houses,  sheds,  refuges, 
even  whole  villages,  are  sometimes  buried  beneath 
them. 

The  Grundlawine  is  somewhat   similar  to  the 


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The  Struggle  with  Nature       15 

last-named;  although  it  is,  so  to  speak,  more  of 
the  "set-piece"  order,  occurring  in  the  spring 
during  the  months  of  April  and  May,  when  the 
sun  is  becoming  powerful,  and  the  ground,  ac- 
cumulating heat,  thaws  the  under  side  of  the 
snow.  This  kind  of  avalanche  is  apt  to  be  more 
dangerous  in  its  effects  than  the  others,  because 
the  snow,  being  more  compact,  and  in  conse- 
quence heavier,  holds  what  it  covers  in  a  more 
fatal  embrace.  Human  beings,  and  even  cattle, 
overtaken  and  buried  beneath  a  Statiblawine  are 
often  able  to  free  themselves  from  the  superin- 
cumbent mass,  or,  if  they  cannot  do  that,  they 
have  been  known  to  live  for  some  hours  under 
their  white  shroud,  because,  as  the  air  penetrates 
the  light  snow,  they  are  enabled  to  breathe  in 
spite  of  its  thick  covering. 

Not  so  with  those  overwhelmed  by  a  Grundla- 
wine,  in  which  case  the  snow  is  so  hardened  and 
solidified  by  the  fall  that  anyone  buried  beneath 
it  stands  the  chance  of  being  either  crushed  or 
suffocated  at  once.  There  is  little  likelihood  of 
such  unfortunates  coming  out  alive,  unless  others 
hasten  quickly  to  their  rescue.  Fortunately, 
these  avalanches  have  usually  a  fixed  time  for 
descending,  and  those  who  live  in  their  vicinity 
take  precautions  to  avoid  them.  In  some  dis- 
tricts the  fall  of  these  avalanches  is  as  regular  in 
the  spring  time  as  April  showers  are  with  us,  and 
they  are  hailed  with  almost  as  much  satisfaction 
by  the  mountain  herdsmen,  who  know  that  when 


1 6  Swiss  Life 

they  have  fallen  the  upland  pastures  will  soon  be 
open. 

Of  the  whole  of  the  productive  land  of  Switzer- 
land—71.7  of  the  total  area — some  19.2  per  cent, 
consists  of  what  is  known  as  alp-land  or  meadow, 
and  until  the  snows  begin  to  break  up  in  the 
fourth  or  fifth  month,  these  lands  are  practically 
closed  against  all  husbandry  operations.  Timber 
to  some  extent  may  be  cut,  and  some  hunting 
may  be  done,  but  that  is  all.  The  hunting  is  very 
precarious,  and  hardly  worth  counting.  Game  is 
not  abundant  in  any  part  of  Switzerland.  In  past 
times  there  was  so  much  indiscriminate  shooting 
that  very  little  was  left  to  shoot.  In  some  parts 
it  became  a  rarity  to  see  a  bird,  to  say  nothing  of 
game.  Rigorous  game  laws  and  other  devices 
have,  however,  been  adopted  with  a  view  to  in- 
creasing the  number  of  wild  creatures.  Chamois 
is  most  abundant  in  Graubiinden,  Glarus,  Berne, 
and  Freiburg.  The  marmot  and  the  Alpine  hare 
may  still  be  seen  upon  the  higher  meadows,  and 
they  bid  fair,  under  the  existing  protective  sys- 
tem, to  increase.  But  it  will  still  be  years,  even 
with  the  greatest  indulgence  on  the  part  of  the 
Central  Government,  before  anything  like  a  plen- 
itude of  animal  or  bird  life  can  be  witnessed  in  the 
Alpine  districts.  This,  of  course,  is  in  great  part 
owing  to  the  rigour  of  the  winter  season,  which 
makes  the  struggle  for  existence  as  severe  for  the 
lower  animals  as  for  man. 

Great  precautions  are  taken  to  prevent  acci- 


The  Struggle  with  Nature      i; 

dents  from  avalanches;  but  never  a  year  passes 
without  one  or  more  catastrophes  of  the  kind 
claiming  its  tale  of  victims.  It  is  much  the  same 
as  the  losses  from  storm  and  shipwreck  with  us. 
Certain  persons — carriers,  muleteers,  and  labour- 
ers who  travel  from  canton  to  canton  for  work — 
are  obliged  to  venture  through  the  passes  before 
the  spring  avalanches  have  descended.  As  a  rule, 
they  travel  with  caution,  going  in  small  parties, 
often  in  single  file,  so  that  if  one  be  overwhelmed 
the  others  may  be  at  hand  to  render  assistance. 
But  too  often,  notwithstanding  every  precaution, 
not  only  individuals,  but  whole  parties  are  thus 
swept  to  destruction.  In  the  early  part  of  May 
in  the  present  year  a  company  of  eight  Italian 
workmen,  who  were  making  their  way  over  one 
of  the  passes  into  Graubiinden,  were  thus  sur- 
prised by  an  avalanche  and  buried.  A  number  of 
frontier  guards  hurried  to  their  rescue,  but  were 
too  late  to  be  of  any  service. 

The  great  danger  from  avalanches  is  when  they 
come  at  an  unexpected  time,  or,  what  is  perhaps 
worse,  when,  from  some  unforeseen  cause,  they 
overstep  their  usual  bounds,  and,  descending 
upon  cultivated  acres  and  villages,  spread  destruc- 
tion on  every  side.  There  are  certain  parts  of 
the  Alpine  regions  that  are  never  wholly  free 
from  the  possibility  of  such  occurrences.  Even 
in  the  calmest  summer  days  the  thunder  of  one 
may  be  heard,  and  the  quiet  herdsmen,  turning 
whence   the   sound   comes,  will   behold   a  huge 


1 8  Swiss  Life 

sliding  mass  coming  down  from  the  neighbouring 
mountain. 

They  are  not  always  dangerous,  however,  and 
the  inhabitants  protect  themselves  from  the  risk 
as  much  as  they  can  by  building  great  walls  and 
redoubts  on  the  exposed  sides  of  their  villages 
and  houses.  These  are  usually  constructed  with 
an  angle  towards  the  mountains,  much  like  the 
upstream  buttresses  of  bridges,  with  the  object  of 
breaking  the  fall  of  the  snow  and  turning  it  aside. 
It  is  the  necessity  of  these  and  similar  works  that 
has  made  of  the  Swiss  such  expert  engineers. 
Everywhere,  and  in  the  most  unexpected  places, 
one  meets  with  erections  almost  cyclopean,  built 
not  for  defence  against  human  foes,  but  to  protect 
life  and  property  from  the  more  relentless  force  of 
nature,  as  well  as  to  overcome  its  obstructions. 

To  the  same  end  is  care  devoted  to  the  preser- 
vation, and  even  the  restoration,  of  the  Alpine 
forests.  There  was  a  time,  and  that  not  a  century 
ago,  when  little  thought  was  given  to  such  mat- 
ters. Forests  were  allowed  to  be  used,  cut  down 
for  firing,  or  for  any  other  purpose,  and  no  one 
ever  gave  a  thought  to  planting  young  trees  in 
their  place.  But  gradually  it  came  to  be  per- 
ceived that  this  was  inviting  disaster,  not  only 
from  avalanches,  but  from  other  causes,  and  the 
Confederation  was  empowered  to  take  this  mat- 
ter of  the  forests  under  its  own  special  supervision. 
Now,  not  only  is  the  greatest  care  taken  of  all 
woodlands,  but  there  is  a  regular  system  of  re- 


The  Struggle  with  Nature       19 

afforestation,  with  a  school  of  forestry,  supported 
by  the  Federal  Government,  equal  probably  to  any 
in  Europe. 

This  school  is  connected  with  the  Federal  Poly- 
technic at  Zurich,  and  attached  to  it  is  a  central 
station  of  experimental  forestry.  All  inspectors 
and  others  connected  with  the  department  of 
woods  and  forests  have  to  pass  through  this  school 
and  to  be  approved  by  the  central  authorities  be- 
fore they  can  be  appointed  by  the  cantons,  under 
whose  direction  they  work.  For  it  is  the  duty  of 
the  cantonal  governments  to  keep  each  its  own 
forests  in  good  condition,  the  Confederation  reim- 
bursing them  for  outlay  up  to  from  fifty  to  sev- 
enty-five per  cent,  of  the  total  expense  incurred. 
A  recent  Federal  budget  provided  for  an  expendi- 
ture of  sixty  thousand  francs  ($12,000)  in  the  form 
of  subsidies  for  the  reafforesting  of  the  higher 
mountains — cost  and  labour  well  expended,  not 
only  as  an  insurance  against  the  avalanche,  but 
for  the  beautifying  of  the  country. 

One  of  the  most  striking  things  connected  with 
the  descent  of  an  avalanche  is  the  disturbance 
of  the  air  which  it  occasions,  amounting  at  times 
to  the  force  of  a  hurricane,  and  doing  not  unfre- 
quently  an  immensity  of  mischief.  The  phenom- 
enon is  often  likened  to  what  is  called  the  wind 
of  a  cannon-ball.  The  cause  is  essentially  the 
same,  though  there  is  no  comparison  as  regards 
their  respective  effects,  the  blast  of  an  avalanche 
being  very  often  felt  at  great  distances  from  its 


20  Swiss  Life 

actual  line  of  descent.  A  vine-dresser  of  Valais 
told  me  that  as  he  once  stood  on  a  neighbouring 
height  he  saw  an  avalanche  fall  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  narrow  vale,  and  as  he  gazed,  uncon- 
scious of  any  danger,  suddenly  a  gust  of  wind 
struck  him,  and,  lifting  him  quite  off  his  feet, 
dropped  him  amongst  his  vines  some  yards  dis- 
tant. This,  of  course,  was  a  small  affair  in  com- 
parison with  the  wind  raised  by  a  glacier-fall — 
another  form  of  avalanche — which  occurred  in 
the  Visp  Valley  early  in  the  last  century,  whereby 
many  houses  in  the  village  of  Randa  were  com- 
pletely destroyed. 

The  Gletscherlawine ,  or  glacier  avalanche,  in 
which  a  portion  of  a  glacier  that,  approaching  a 
steep  incline,  breaks  off  and  descends  with  the 
roar  of  thunder  and  the  force  of  a  tornado  into 
the  valleys  below,  destroying  everything  that 
comes  in  its  way,  is  still  more  dreadful  than  the 
snow  avalanche.  Among  the  more  notable  catas- 
trophes of  the  kind  may  be  named  the  glacier 
avalanche  which  overwhelmed  Bagnethal  in  the 
year  1818,  and  Nikolaithal,  near  Zermatt,  in 
1819,  as  also  the  destruction  of  the  Alpine  pas- 
tures on  the  Gemmi  through  the  downfall  of  a 
glacier  from  the  Altels  in  the  summer  of  1897. 

One  might  mention  other  forms  of  the  ava- 
lanche, terrific  as  those  described  above,  but 
almost  more  destructive,  like  that  known  as  the 
Runzen ;  but  enough  has  been  said  under  this 
head  to  give  an  idea  of  what  the  struggle  with 


The  Struggle  with  Nature       21 

nature  is  that  the  Swiss  husbandman  and  moun- 
taineer have  constantly  to  wage  in  order,  as  it 
were,  to  keep  their  heads  above  the  flowers. 

Nor  are  these  phenomena  the  worst  that  have 
to  be  contended  w^ith;  there  are  others  even  more 
dreadful  in  their  effects  than  avalanches,  though 
fortunately  of  less  frequent  occurrence:  I  refer  to 
landslips.  Masses  of  rock  and  earth  are  loosened 
from  position  by  the  action  of  the  elements,  and, 
descending  into  the  vales  below,  spread  death  and 
destruction  on  every  hand.  Such  a  catastrophe 
was  that  which  overwhelmed  the  village  of  Gol- 
dau  in  1806,  or,  more  recently,  that  which  (in 
1 881)  resulted  in  the  destruction  of  a  large  part  of 
the  village  of  Blm,  in  the  canton  of  Glarus,  and 
the  death  of  one  hundred  and  fourteen  of  its  in- 
habitants— a  terrible  visitation  for  a  peaceful  Sab- 
bath morning,  and  one  calculated  deeply  to 
impress  these  people  of  the  Alps  how  doubly  true 
it  is  with  them  that  in  the  midst  of  life  they  are 
in  death ! 

Elm  is  a  characteristic  Swiss  mountain  village; 
it  lies  at  an  elevation  of  3230  feet  above  the  sea, 
and  has  a  population  of  something  over  a  thou- 
sand. They  and  the  toilers  in  surrounding 
valleys  generally  are  a  strong,  hardy,  and  hand- 
some race,  particularly  the  men.  Industrious  and 
home-loving,  they  are  proud  of  their  good  name, 
and  renowned  for  their  uprightness  of  principle 
and  good  conduct.  The  education  of  the  young 
is  well  cared  for.    Nor  does  it  stop  short  of  some, 


2  2  Swiss  Life 

at  least,  of  the  ruder  accomplishments  which 
characterise  many  of  the  Alpine  people.  Those 
of  Kim  and  its  vicinity  are  in  particular  noted  for 
their  singing  of  the  popular  Volkslieder  of  the 
country;  and  for  those  who  have  not  been  spoiled 
by  the  conventional  airs  and  jejune  words  of  our 
modern  drawing-room  canticles,  it  is  no  small 
treat  to  hear  one  of  these  mountain  voices  trolling 
forth  the  words: 

"  Bis  die  Berge  thun  sich  beugen 
Und  die  Hiigel  senken  sich, 
Bis  der  Tod  mir  nimmt  das  L/eben, 
So  lange  will  ich  lieben  dich  !  " 

The  fatal  Bergsturz  which  sent  one  hundred 
and  fourteen  of  its  inhabitants  to  a  living  grave 
overwhelmed  also  twenty-two  dwelling-houses, 
fifty  stables,  and  twelve  stores  and  workshops.  It 
was  estimated  at  the  time  that  the  catastrophe 
was  occasioned  by  the  fall  of  twenty  million  tons 
of  rock  from  a  height  of  two  thousand  feet. 
Terrible  as  was  the  calamity,  it  was  brightened 
by  acts  of  the  rarest  courage  and  heroism.  One 
incident  is  particularly  worthy  of  note.  A  young 
girl  was  buried  beneath  the  ruins  of  a  house,  and 
though  it  seemed  hopeless  to  expect  ever  to  be- 
hold the  daylight  again,  yet  in  the  dreadful  situ- 
ation in  which  she  was  placed  her  first  care  was 
for  a  younger  child  who  had  been  overwhelmed 
along  with  her,  and  who,  severely  hurt,  was 
for  part  of  the   time  unconscious.     For  ten  or 


The  Struggle  with  Nature 


2^ 


twelve  hours  this  lowly  heroine  was  immured  in 
her  terrible  prison,  and  throughout  the  whole 
of  that  time  she  kept  heart  and  hope,  and  was 
unremitting  in  the  consolations  and  encourage- 
ment she  gave  to  the  little  one.  Fortunately,  in 
the  end,  both  were  rescued,  although  the  younger 
child  survived  but  a  very  short  time. 

Professor  Tyndall,  the  first  to  achieve  the  sum- 
mit of  the  Weisshorn  (in  1861),  has  given  a 
striking  description  of  a  landslip  on  a  small  scale 
which  he  witnessed  while  effecting  the  descent. 
**  A  deep,  confused  roar,"  he  says,  "attracted 
our  attention.  From  a  point  near  the  summit  a 
rock  had  been  discharged.  It  plunged  down  a 
dry  couloir,  raising  a  cloud  of  dust  at  each  bump 
against  the  mountain.  A  hundred  similar  ones 
were  immediately  in  motion,  while  the  spaces  be- 
tween the  larger  masses  were  filled  by  an  in- 
numerable flight  of  smaller  stones.  Each  of 
them  shakes  its  quantum  of  dust  in  the  air, 
until  finally  the  avalanche  is  enveloped  in  a  vast 
cloud.  The  clatter  of  this  devil's  cavalry  was 
stunning.  Black  masses  of  rock  emerged  here 
and  there  from  the  cloud, and  sped  through  the  air 
like  flying  fiends.  Their  motion  was  not  one  of 
translation  merely,  but  they  whizzed  and  vi- 
brated in  their  flight  as  if  urged  by  wings.  Thd 
clang  of  echoes  resounded  from  side  to  side,  from 
the  Schallenberg  to  the  back  Weisshorn,  until 
finally  the  whole  troop  came  to  rest,  after  many 
a  deep-sounding  thud  in  the  snow,  at  the  bottom 


24  Swiss  Life 

of  the  mountain.  This  stone  avalanche  was  one 
of  the  most  extraordinary  things  I  had  ever  wit- 
nessed." 

Although  this  is  not  a  work  on  the  physical 
geography  of  Switzerland,  a  few  words  at  least 
must  be  devoted  to  glaciers,  which  constitute  one 
of  the  most  notable  features  in  the  physiognomy 
of  the  Alps,  and  give  rise  from  time  to  time 
to  some  of  its  most  remarkable  tragedies.  Gla- 
ciers are  appendages  of  the  snow-covered  moun- 
tains, and  bear  much  the  same  relation  to  them 
that  icicles  do  to  the  snow-clad  roof  of  a  house. 
They  are  formed  by  the  partial  thawing  of  the 
snow  on  the  higher  peaks,  followed  by  subsequent 
congelation  about  the  variable  line  which  marks 
the  oscillations  of  the  freezing-point,  and  known 
among  the  Alpine  people  as  the  Flrn  (in  French, 
le  neve).  The  icy  product,  semi-fluid  as  it  is, 
flows  perforce  down  the  mountain-slope,  but  at  a 
varying  rate  of  progress,  the  more  rapidly  mov- 
ing glaciers  attaining  a  speed  of  one  hundred 
metres  a  year.  At  the  height  of  sixteen  hundred 
metres  above  the  sea  most  glaciers  cease,  though 
a  few  here  and  there  descend  to  a  lower  level. 
As  cultivation  goes  on  far  above  the  elevation 
named,  the  singular  spectacle  is  often  exhibited, 
in  the  full  glory  of  summer,  of  enormous  fields  of 
ice  existing  in  close  proximity  to  fruitful  orchards, 
smiling  vineyards,  fields  ripening  for  the  harvest, 
meadows  spangled  with  myriad-hued  flowers,  and 
the  peaceful  hum  of  bees.     These  glaciers  differ 


The  Struggle  with  Nature      25 

much  in  external  aspect,  but  to  all  alike  belongs 
that  general  appearance  which  has  been  so  well 
described  by  Coleridge  in  the  lines: 

**  Torrents,  methinks,  that  heard  a  mighty  Voice, 
And  stopped  at  once,  amidst  their  maddest  plunge  ! 
Motionless  torrents  !  silent  cataracts  !  " 

Mention  has  been  made  of  the  commoner  dan- 
gers and  terrors  amongst  which  the  mountain 
people  must  ever  live,  and  from  which  they  can 
never  be  wholly  assured  of  safety  ;  but  there  is 
one  other  peril  to  which  some  parts  of  the  country 
are  exposed  more  than  others,  and  which,  to 
many,  is  fraught  with  a  greater  terror  than  even 
the  mountain  flood  or  the  landslip.  I  refer  to  the 
fires  caused  b}^  lightning.  Again  and  again  in 
this  land  of  nature's  havoc-forces  whole  villages 
have  been  destroyed  by  conflagrations  thus  occa- 
sioned. Over  an  enclosed  valley,  perhaps,  the 
thunder-clouds  will  gather,  and,  after  making  the 
place  unbearable  with  the  heat,  they  will  sud- 
denly open,  and,  with  a  crash  of  unutterable 
dread,  envelop  the  whole  vale  and  mountain  side 
in  sheets  of  livid  flame.  Then,  before  the  terri- 
fied people  have  had  time  to  recover  from  the 
shock  and  the  glare,  the  cry  will  go  up  of  "  Fire! 
fire  !  "  Many  an  Alpine  farmer  and  vine-grower 
has  thus,  in  a  few  minutes,  seen  his  home  and 
everything  about  it  reduced  to  ashes,  and  many 
a  mountain  village,   smiling  at  noon,   has  long 


26  Swiss  Life 

ere  sunset  been  reduced  to  a  smoking  ruin  by  the 
devouring  flame  from  heaven. 

The  frequent  recurrence  of  such  dangers  as 
those  above  described,  and  the  never-ending 
struggle  with  such  formidable  difficulties,  have 
developed  in  the  Swiss  a  special  instinct  for 
self-preservation  and  its  outcome,  engineering. 
Nowhere  can  this  be  seen  so  well,  or  on  so 
magnificent  a  scale,  as  in  the  roads  he  has  con- 
structed over  the  Alpine  passes.  Surprising  works 
of  the  kind  are  noticeable  along  the  gorge  of 
the  Aar  near  Meiringen,  where  galleries  have 
been  bored  in  part  through  the  solid  rock,  and  in 
part  carried  on  iron  stanchions  the  whole  length 
of  the  Schlucht,  so  that  visitors  may  behold  the 
wonder  of  this  piece  of  nature's  handiwork. 

This  is  a  fair  specimen  of  what  has  been  done 
on  a  much  larger  scale  on  many  of  the  mountain 
roads,  in  order  to  make  them  more  practicable. 
Indeed,  but  for  these  surprising  works,  many  of 
the  great  highways  over  the  Central  Alps,  pass- 
able now  for  carriages,  would  be  altogether  impos- 
sible. For  these  Swiss  road-makers,  however,  no 
difficulty  has  apparently  been  too  great.  The 
traveller  over  these  mountain  roads  is  astonished 
by  feat  after  feat  of  the  most  admirable,  the  most 
daring  engineering  —  astonished  alike  by  the 
genius  that  conceived  them  and  the  patient  in- 
dustry that  carried  them  out.  Now  it  is  a  bridge 
which  spans  with  its  light  arch  a  yawning  chasm, 
and  it  may  be  repeated  again  and  again  within 


CO 

z 

< 

z 

o 

X 

I- 

X 

a 
-y 
O 
QC 

X 


QC 
HI 


< 


The  Struggle  with  Nature       27 

the  space  of  less  than  a  mile  ;  now  a  tunnel  or 
gallery  through  the  solid  rock,  where  it  seemed 
impossible  for  the  road  to  proceed  ;  but  the 
boring-tool  and  gunpowder  have  performed 
miracles,  and  the  way  is  made  plain. 

Nothing  is  forgotten  or  left  to  chance  in  this 
splendid  engineering.  If  the  impending  heights 
threaten  snowslide  or  avalanche,  the  road  is  pro- 
tected by  arcades  of  solid  masonry  or  else  by  ex- 
cavations in  the  rock}^  wall  of  the  mountain  itself. 
Sometimes  the  road  is  carried  along  the  precipi- 
tous side  of  a  cliff  hundreds  of  feet  in  depth  over 
piles  of  stone- work.  For  miles  it  will  run  over- 
hanging, as  it  were,  the  yawning  abyss;  yet  such 
is  the  excellence  of  these  highways  that,  though 
they  zigzag  dowm  the  heights,  making  turns 
often  at  apparently  most  perilous  angles,  experi- 
enced drivers  will  go  pelting  down  them  at  a 
well-nigh  breakneck  pace.  They  do  not  do  so, 
however,  except  with  tried  horses  ;  but  with  such 
accessories  on  a  clear  day  there  is  nothing  so 
exhilarating  as  a  race  down  the  mountain,  open- 
ing up  a  fresh  view,  a  changing  panorama,  at 
every  turn,  and  making  the  nerves  tingle  with 
the  consciousness  of  dangers,  imminent  and 
obvious,  subdued  by  the  pre-eminence  of  art. 
Those  who  have  travelled  over  the  Furka  will 
know  what  this  sort  of  sensation  means. 

Jean  Jacques  Rousseau  was  surpris  que  les 
bains  de  V air  salutaire  et  bienfaisant  des  7non- 
tagnes  nefusseyit  pas  un  des  grandes  retnedes  de  la 


28  Swiss  Life 

mMecine  et  de  la  morale.  Swiss  engineering  has 
at  the  present  day  so  overcome  the  difficulties  of 
mountain-travel,  not  only  by  the  making  of  roads, 
but  also  by  the  construction  of  railways  that  may 
be  said  to  walk  up  the  mountains,  that  thousands 
of  citizens  now  ascend  the  peaks  to  fortify  the 
health  of  their  bodies,  if  not  their  morale,  spend- 
ing weeks  yearly  in  the  hotels  built  in  the  moun- 
tain-tops or  in  the  high  valleys.  Thus  they  bring 
good  out  of  what  was  formerly  apt  to  be  regarded 
as  unmixed  evil. 


CHAPTER  III 


THE  SOVEREIGNTY   OF  THE  PEOPLE 


ONE  might  naturall}^  expect  that  a  people 
long  tutored  under  such  conditions  as 
those  which  have  just  been  described  would  de- 
velop some  striking,  if  not  altogether  peculiar, 
features  of  character,  and  such  has  indeed  been 
the  case  with  the  Swiss.  The}^  have,  through  the 
gradual  evolution  of  the  centuries,  worked  out  a 
political  constitution  which  is  in  its  way  quite 
unique.  Although  the  world  has  seen,  and  has 
still  before  its  eyes,  other  experiments  in  demo- 
cratic government,  there  is  nothing  in  existence, 
or  to  be  found  in  the  records  of  history,  at  all 
like  what  we  see  in  Switzerland.  Moreover,  the 
interesting  point  is — to  Englishmen,  at  least — 
that  the  Swiss  constitution,  like  that  of  Great 
Britain,  has  been  one  of  slow  and  step-by-step 
growth.  Beginning,  so  to  speak,  in  a  single 
germ,  it  has,  by  a  method  analogous  to  that  wit- 
nessed in  other  organised  bodies,  gradually  de- 
veloped new  powers  and  differentiated  functions, 
in  accordance  with  the  demands  of  the  time  and 
the  increasing  complexity  of  modern  life. 

29 


30  Swiss  Life 

It  is  curious  to  note  that  the  future  Swiss  Con- 
federation took  its  rise  at  the  issue  of  the  gorges 
of  the  St.  Gothard,  almost  at  the  very  heart, 
therefore,  of  the  Alpine  region.  For  here  is 
situated  the  ancient  village  of  Altdorf,  still  the 
chief  town  of  the  rude  people  of  Uri,  who  take 
the  bull  for  the  symbol  of  their  strength,  and 
who,  along  with  their  neighbours  of  Schwyz  and 
Unterwalden,  with  bull-like  force  and  endurance 
withstood  through  the  centuries  every  attack 
upon  their  homes  and  pastures,  and  upon  the  fires 
of  liberty  they  had  kindled  upon  their  hearth- 
stones. Here,  on  August  i,  1291,  the  people  of 
these  mountain  fastnesses  formed  a  perpetual 
alliance  for  the  defence  of  their  several  local 
rights  and  privileges.  In  1309,  the  Forest  Can- 
tons, as  they  are  still  called,  were  given,  or  con- 
firmed in,  the  Reichsfreiheit  of  the  Empire.  They 
were  not,  however,  allowed  to  enjoy  their  rights 
without  contest,  and  on  November  15,  13 15,  in 
defence  of  those  rights,  they  met  and  signally 
defeated  the  flower  of  Austrian  chivalry  in  the 
famous  battle  of  Morgarten,  which  has  been  well 
named  the  Marathon  of  Swiss  history.  On  that 
day,  thirteen  hundred  mountaineers  overwhelmed 
a  well-armed  force  of  more  than  ten  times  their 
number,  and  so  sent  ringing  down  the  centuries 
a  note  of  triumph  that  has  been  an  inspiration  to 
the  Schweizer  ever  since.  In  the  following  year 
(1316)  the  Emperor  Lewis  formally  declared  the 
three   cantons   free   from   the   over  lordship  of 


\ 


The  Sovereignty  of  the  People    31 

the  Dukes  of  Austria.  Such  are,  briefly  stated, 
the  facts  concerning  the  first  assertion  of  Swiss 
independence.  The  romantic  legends  which  for 
so  many  generations  passed  as  history,  and  in 
which  Tell  and  Gessler  figure  so  largely,  have 
had — with  reluctance,  it  must  be  confessed  —  to 
be  dismissed  to  the  realm  of  fable,  where  they 
rightly  belong. 

Between  the  years  1332  and  1353,  the  three 
cradle  cantons,  as  we  may  term  them,  had  their 
strength  augmented  by  the  adhesion  to  their  Con- 
federation of  Zug,  Lucerne,  Zurich,  Glarus,  and 
Berne.  Towards  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century 
Freiburg  and  Soleure  likewise  became  parties  to 
this  league  of  free  *'  Schwyzers,"  as  they  were 
now  generally  called.  A  few  years  later,  after  a 
stiff  fight  against  the  Emperor  Maximilian,  the 
independence  of  the  Confederation  was  practically 
established,  and  its  membership  increased  by  the 
accession  of  Basel,  Schaffhausen,  and  Appenzell. 
The  Bund,  as  the  Confederation  is  styled  in  Ger- 
man, now  consisted  of  thirteen  states,  all  German- 
speaking  and  all  confined  within  the  basin  of  the 
Rhine  (including  its  tributary,  the  Aar).  This 
was  the  peculiarity  of  the  original  Swiss  Con- 
federation, that  it  was  German  in  birth,  in  tradi- 
tion, and  in  form  of  thought,  and  that  it  did  not 
extend  its  bounds  to  take  in  peoples  speaking 
other  tongues,  and  of  habits  of  life  essentially 
different  to  theirs,  until  1798.  It  had,  how- 
ever, established  an  alliance  with  certain  petty 


2>^  Swiss  Life 

neighbouring  states,  among  them  being  St.  Gall, 
Valais,  Neuchatel,  and  the  Leagues  of  Rhaetia 
(that  is,  of  Graubiinden),  while  the  Forest  Can- 
tons held  as  a  tributary  district  part  of  what  is 
now  the  canton  of  Tessin. 

Surviving  the  struggles  of  the  Reformation 
almost,  as  one  may  say,  by  the  skin  of  the  teeth, 
the  little  republic  was  destined  to  go  down  before 
the  fury  of  the  French  Revolution.  However, 
though  crushed  for  the  time  being,  the  Swiss 
were  by  no  means  beaten.  They  only  bided  their 
time,  and  it  came  when,  in  1803,  Napoleon,  as 
First  Consul,  interposed  with  his  **Act  of  Media- 
tion," whereby  the  old  cantonal  arrangement  and 
constitution  was  to  a  certain  extent  restored. 
At  the  same  time  the  cantons  of  St.  Gall,  Aargau, 
Thurgau,  Vaud,  Graubiinden,  and  Tessin  were 
added  to  the  Bund^  thus  increasing  the  number 
of  confederated  states  to  nineteen.  This  arrange- 
ment lasted  only  until  18 15,  when,  on  the  down- 
fall of  Napoleon,  these  liberty-loving  children  of 
the  Alps,  rising  to  a  man,  seized  the  opportunity 
to  resume  all  their  old  rights  and  privileges,  and 
to  go  back,  as  far  as  was  then  possible,  to  the 
condition  of  things  in  being  anterior  to  the  Revo- 
lution. A  "  Federal  Pact  "  was  drawn  up  and 
signed  at  Zurich  in  that  year,  one  of  the  most 
notable  things  connected  with  it  being  the  acces- 
sion of  three  new  cantons — those,  namely,  of 
Geneva,  Neuchatel,  and  Valais — to  the  Bwid, 
thus  raising  its  constitutent  members  to  the  pre- 


The  Sovereignty  of  the  People    3 


sent  number  of  twenty-two.  Equally  important 
is  the  fact  that  by  the  Treaty  of  Vienna  the  inde- 
pendence and  neutrality  of  Switzerland  were 
guaranteed  by  Great  Britain,  Russia,  Prussia, 
Austria,  and  Portugal.  The  country  was  thus 
started,  under  the  most  favourable  auspices,  on  a 
new  era  of  progress  and  prosperity. 

The  onward  course,  however,  was  by  no  means 
a  smooth  one.  Within  the  bounds  of  the  Confed- 
eration were  mixed  up,  along  with  a  very  "  live  " 
people,  a  great  many  very  heterogeneous  ele- 
ments. Hence  there  arose  a  movement,  a  stir  of 
life,  a  going  to  and  fro,  in  this  little  out-of-the 
way  land,  such  as  had  never  before  been  known. 
This  had  been  rendered  the  easier  by  the  great 
roads  which  Napoleon  had  caused  to  be  made 
across  the  Alps,  and  which,  bringing  as  they  did 
numberless  visitors  to  the  country  and  a  great 
deal  of  gold,  gave  the  Swiss  the  desire,  as  well  as 
the  means,  to  continue  the  same  work.  The 
activity  thus  inspired  and  inaugurated  has  never 
since  been  intermitted.  Nor  was  this  rush  of 
travel  without  its  effect  in  producing  a  concurrent 
stir  of  ideas. 

It  has  frequently  been  said  that  Schiller, 
through  his  drama  of  William  Tell,  and  Goethe 
by  his  Letters  from  Switzerland,  did  a  great  deal 
not  only  to  reveal  Switzerland  to  its  people,  but 
to  the  world  at  large;  and  the  fact  is  indisputable, 
as  has  been  frequently  acknowledged  by  Swiss 
writers.     Yet,  great  as  is  the  indebtedness  of  the 


34  Swiss  Life 

people  of  Switzerland  to  those  two  famous  Ger- 
mans, the}^  in  some  respects  owe  a  still  larger 
debt  of  gratitude  *to  Byron,  not  only  for  what  he 
did  to  make  the  Alps,  and  especially  the  Lake  of 
Geneva,  known  to  the  world,  but  for  doing  much 
besides  to  stir  up  and  vitalise  the  dead  and  arid 
bones  of  old  custom  and  wont  with  the  fire  of 
living  thought.  This  has  often  been  acknow- 
ledged to  me  by  Swiss  men  and  women  of  dis- 
tinction and  eminence,  more  particularly, however, 
in  the  French-speaking  cantons. 

From  the  signing  of  the  Federal  Pact,  in 
1815,  to  the  year  1848  was  a  period  of  great  and 
almost  perpetual  stress  and  turmoil,  and  it  looked 
very  much  at  one  time  as  though  the  Confedera- 
tion was  going  to  fall  to  'pieces.  The  chief 
trouble,  or  at  least  the  one  which  led  to  the  great- 
est danger,  arose  in  the  main  from  religious 
differences,  with  the  Jesuit  as  a  potent  inciting 
cause.  However,  after  a  state  qf  war,  which 
fortunately  lasted  but  three  weeks,  the  attempted 
scission  was  put  an  end  to;  and  all  parties,  sobered 
somewhat  by  the  danger  through  which  they  had 
passed,  went  to  work  in  a  more  conciliatory  spirit 
than  had  hitherto  obtained  to  put  the  national 
house  in  order.  The  result  was  the  revision  of 
the  Federal  Pact  of  18 15,  and  the  placing  of  the 
constitution  on  a  more  satisfactory  basis.  By 
this  supreme  Act  of  1848  the  Confederation  was 
converted  from  a  Staatenbu7id — that  is,  a  number 
of  states  banded  together  for  the  purposes  of  de- 


The  Sovereignty  of  the  People    35 

fence  and  mutual  help — into  a  Bundesstaat,  i.  e.y 
a  single  state,  from  which,  though  the  separate 
parts  retain  a  certain  amount  of  independence, 
they  cannot  recede  when  and  as  they  like. 

The  constitution  then  adopted,  with  certain 
important  modifications  (introduced  by  the  fresh 
revision  of  1874),  is  the  one  still  in  force,  and  is 
so  remarkable  an  evidence  of  conservative  yet 
progressive  statesmanship  that  it  is  well  worth  a 
brief  study.  The  object  of  the  Confederation, 
according  to  the  revised  Constitution  of  1874,  is 
declared  to  be  the  preservation  of  the  independ- 
ence of  the  country,  the  protection  of  the  rights 
and  liberties  of  the  people,  and  the  increase  of 
their  common  prosperity.  Under  this  Constitu- 
tion the  cantons  remain  sovereign  so  far  as  their 
sovereignty  is  not  limited  by  the  powers  given  to 
the  Federal  authorities,  and  as  such  they  exercise 
all  the  rights  not  thus  delegated.  The  powers 
which  have  been  handed  over  to  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment are  those  which  make  it  supreme  in  all 
matters  relating  to  peace,  war,  and  treaties,  as 
well  as  in  such  questions  as  relate  to  the  army, 
the  postal,  telegraph,  and  telephone  systems,  the 
coining  of  money,  the  issue  and  repayment  of 
bank-notes,  and  Swiss  weights  and  measures. 
All  questions  of  general  revenue  likewise  come 
within  its  competence,  and  it  legislates  besides  in 
matters  touching  civil  capacity,  copyright,  bank- 
ruptcy, patents,  and  sanitary  police.  To  it  also 
is  entrusted  the  carrying  out  of  such  public  works 


36  Swiss  Life 

as  concern  the  well-being  of  the  people  or  the 
country  as  a  whole,  including  (as  already  stated) 
the  protection  of  forests,  the  construction  of  roads 
and  railways,  the  conservation  of  rivers,  lakes, 
etc.  On  the  Federal  Government,  too,  has  been 
conferred  the  power  to  establish,  when  it  sees  fit, 
a  Federal  University,  and  to  control  the  same,  as 
it  now  does  the  Polytechnic  School  which  has 
for  many  years  been  doing  such  good  educational 
work  at  Zurich. 

By  a  recent  law  the  Central  Government  has 
also  obtained  exclusive  control  over  the  manu- 
facture and  sale  of  spirituous  liquors.  This  new 
power  was  necessitated  by  the  alanning  extent  to 
which  drunkenness  was  increasing  throughout 
the  Confederation,  and  it  was  freely  accorded  by 
a  popular  vote  of  the  entire  country,  taken  on  the 
25th  of  October,  1885. 

Previous  to  that  date  practically  anyone  could 
manufacture  alcohol,  and  the  result  was  demoral- 
ising in  the  extreme.  Now,  by  a  recent  decision 
of  the  Federal  Chambers,  the  production  of  spirit 
is  limited  to  thirty  thousand  hectolitres  annually. 
The  Federal  regulation  of  alcohol  has  been  much 
discussea  in  late  years  from  the  point  of  view  of 
the  results  obtained,  financial  and  other.  '*  If  it 
has  not  completely  attained  the  end  aimed  at  in 
the  outset  by  its  originators,"  says  a  recent 
authority,  *'  we  can  nevertheless  assert  that,  re- 
garded from  the  point  of  view  of  agriculture,  it 
has  had  the  important  result  of  transforming  a 


The  Sovereignty  of  the  People    37 

practice  which  was  demoralising  in  the  highest 
degree  into  a  wholesome  industry,  and  one  re- 
markably adapted  to  the  conditions  of  the  agricul- 
ture which  feeds  it." 

The  same  writer  goes  on  to  say  that,  in  criticis- 
ing the  existing  arrangements  regulating  the 
traffic  in  alcohol,  people  are  apt  to  forget  the 
condition  of  things  which  they  brought  to  an 
end,  and  the  improved  outlook  for  the  moral  and 
physical  health  of  the  people  which  has  been  in- 
augurated by  "  the  abolition  of  the  uncontrolled 
manufacture  of  a  detestable  beverage,  the  use  of 
which  extended  even  to  the  food  of  children,  and 
whose  evil  effects,  like  a  veritable  leprosy,  left 
their  mark  on  the  fairest  regions  of  the  land." 

The  way  in  which  the  proceeds  of  the  Federal 
alcohol  monopoly  are  disposed  of  is  a  striking 
illustration  of  the  divided  sovereignty  which  is 
the  basis  of  Swiss  national  and  communal  life. 
The  net  profits  thus  arising  —  which  in  1898 
amounted  to  6,453,335  francs  ($1,250,000) — go  to 
the  cantons,  and  are  used  by  them  for  the  pur- 
poses of  the  State  ;  but  each  canton  is  bound  to 
expend  one  tenth  of  the  amount  received  in  com- 
bating alcoholism  both  as  regards  its  causes  and 
its  effects.  In  some  of  the  German  cantons  a 
portion  of  the  fund  thus  obtained  is  devoted  to 
the  support  of  asylums  for  the  inebriate. 

In  all  other  matters  save  those  above  referred 
to,  the  cantons  have  complete  liberty  of  action  as 
regards  the  management  of  their  own  internal 


38  Swiss  Life 

affairs.  They  not  only  have  complete  control  of 
all  matters  concerning  themselves  alone,  but  they 
can  conclude  treaties  with  foreign  States  in  re- 
gard to  questions  of  public  economy  and  touching 
frontier  and  police  regulations,  provided  there  be 
nothing  in  such  treaties  contrary  to  the  Federal 
Constitution,  or  to  the  rights  of  other  cantons. 
In  short,  apart  from  and  notwithstanding  the 
specific  powers  delegated  to  the  Federal  Govern- 
mentf  each  canton  jealously  safeguards  its  posi- 
tion as  a  sovereign  State,  and,  indeed,  gives  its 
adhesion  and  support  to  the  Confederation  ex- 
plicitly on  the  condition  that,  within  the  limits 
prescribed,  it  shall  guarantee  and  protect  such 
sovereignty. 

Moreover,  while  the  cantons,  or  the  people  of 
the  cantons,  delegate  certain  powers  to  the  Fed- 
eral Government,  they  are  supposed  not  to  part, 
in  any  sense,  with  their  sovereign  rights.  This 
is  the  most  peculiar,  and  at  the  same  time  the 
most  striking,  feature  of  the  Swiss  political  sys- 
tem ;  it  is  one,  also,  which  needs  to  be  thoroughly 
grasped  before  the  fundamental  principle  of  their 
complicated  constitution  can  be  properly  compre- 
hended. According  to  the  theory  of  Swiss  rights, 
all  sovereign  power  resides  originally  in  the 
people.  All  authority,  therefore,  is  vested  in 
them,  and  they  are  so  jealous  of  that  authority 
that  they  will  not  surrender  it  to  any  man  or  any 
body  of  men.  They  are,  of  course,  obliged  to 
delegate   power  to  individuals,  and  to  authorise 


The  Sovereignty  of  the  People     39 

them  to  act  temporarily,  and  under  certain  con- 
ditions, in  their  behalf ;  but  upon  all  such  dele- 
gated authorities  they  keep  a  powerful  check-rein, 
which,  it  is  perfectly  within  bounds  to  say,  they 
never  relinquish  out  of  their  hands.  This  check- 
rein  is  dual  in  character  ;  in  other  words,  it  is 
composed  of  two  parts,  one  being  called  the 
* '  Referendum, ' '  and  the  other  the  popular  ' '  In- 
itiative." 

Most  persons  who  have  taken  any  interest  in 
politics  of  late  years  have  heard  or  read  of  these 
two  characteristic  Swiss  institutions  ;  the  Refer- 
endum in  particular  having  been  advocated  by 
several  writers  on  political  subjects  as  a  substitu- 
tion for  the  English  Upper  House,  and  as  a 
means  of  obviating  or  counteracting  some  of  the 
evils  of  party  and  parliamentary  government. 
The  Referendum  may  be  described  as  a  reference 
to  the  people  of  a  law  or  political  measure,  which 
has  already  been  discussed  and  put  into  shape  by 
the  legislative  body,  but  which  cannot  become  a 
legal  enactment  until  it  has  been  approved  by  a 
majority  of  the  electors  voting  for  or  against. 

The  Referendum  is  no  new  thing  in  Switzer- 
land, and  seems  to  have  had  its  origin  in  the 
Landsgemeinde,  of  which  I  shall  have  something 
to  say  later.  As  long  ago  as  the  sixteenth  cent- 
ury the  people  of  Zurich  and  Berne  were  called 
upon  to  decide  the  question  of  the  Reformation, 
as  applied  to  themselves,  by  means  of  the  Refer- 
endum, although  not  in  the  way  it  is  now  known. 


40  Swiss  Life 

In  its  present  form  the  institution  is  comparatively 
modern.  It  existed  in  the  cantons  of  Valais  and 
the  Grisons  before  1848,  and,  strange  to  say,  in 
the  former  it  was  suppressed  in  that  year  with  the 
consent  of  both  political  parties.  Perhaps  they 
found  it,  as  politicians  of  all  shades  admit  it  to  be, 
a  two-edged  sword  which  cuts  both  ways.  In 
1858,  the  canton  of  Neuchatel  adopted  the  Refer- 
endum, reserving  it,  however,  exclusiv^ely  for 
financial  matters.  Three  years  later  Vaud  did 
the  same. 

At  present  such  reservations  no  longer  exist. 
All  the  cantons,  with  one  or  two  exceptions,  now 
put  it  in  practice  and  apply  it  to  all  legislative 
Acts.  In  many  of  the  cantons,  indeed,  it  is  not 
confined  to  cantonal  matters,  but  is  adopted  in 
the  communes,  or,  as  we  should  say,  in  the 
parishes.  Finally,  in  accordance  with  the  prin- 
ciple recognised  in  1848,  that  the  people  have  a 
right  to  participate  in  the  life  of  the  Confedera- 
tion, the  Referendum  was  formally  made  part  of 
the  revised  Constitution  of  1874.  Article  89  of 
that  Constitution  provides  that  all  laws  passed 
by  the  Federal  Assembly  shall  be  submitted  for 
the  approval  of  the  people  if  a  demand  be 
made  to  that  effect  by  thirty  thousand  citizens, 
or  by  eight  cantons,  that  is,  bj^  eight  cantonal 
Governments.  The  same  principle  applies  to  all 
measures  adopted  by  the  Federal  executive  which 
have  a  general  bearing,  and  which  are  not  spe- 
cially urgent  in  character.     The  Referendum  is 


The  Sovereignty  of  the  People    41 

thus  optional,  or  *'  facultative,"  as  it  is  usually 
called,  in  its  application  to  Federal  matters  ;  but 
as  adopted  in  the  cantons,  and  as  applied  to  local 
State  matters,  it  is  sometimes  optional  and  some- 
times compulsory.  In  the  cantons  of  St.  Gall, 
Zug,  Lucerne,  Basel-city,  Schaffhausen,  Vaud, 
Neuchatel,  Geneva,  and  Tessin  it  is  optional  ; 
while  in  Zurich,  Berne,  Thurgau,  Aargau,  So- 
leure,  Schwyz,  the  Grisons,  and  Basel-land  it  is 
obligatory.  Valais  adopts  the  Referendum  in 
relation  to  financial  matters.  Freiburg  clings  to 
its  old  representative  form  of  government ;  whilst 
Uri,  Glarus,  the  two  Unterwaldens,  and  Appen- 
zell  (Inner  and  Ausser  Rhoden)  still  find  their 
primitive  and  picturesque  Landsgemeinde^i  suffi- 
cient for  all  their  needs. 

There  is,  of  course,  much  difference  of  opinion 
throughout  Switzerland  as  to  the  value  of  the 
Referendum.  One  can  hardly  take  a  railway 
journey  from  one  part  of  the  country  to  another 
without  meeting  with  almost  every  shade  of  view 
in  regard  to  it.  There  is,  however,  among  the 
more  intelligent  a  general  consensus  of  opinion 
that  an  institution  which  places  the  sovereign 
will  of  the  people  above  that  of  the  constituted 
authorities  and  legislative  bodies,  and  so  puts  a 
check  upon  them,  is  a  potent  instrument  for  good 
in  the  hands  of  a  wise  and  instructed  people.  No 
doubt  it  may  be  abused  ;  no  doubt  the  most 
carefully  considered  measures  of  statesmen  may 
be  wrecked  by  the  ignorance  and  prejudice  of 


42  Swiss  Life 

political  partisanship,  for  it  has  already  been 
proved  that  the  enemies  of  a  proposed  enactment 
are  more  eager  to  go  to  the  polls  than  its  friends. 
But  the  fact  remains  that  thus  far  the  Referendum 
has  acted  well.  It  has  shown  that  there  is  no 
desire  among  the  body  of  the  public  for  hasty 
legislation,  yet  that  when  a  proposed  change  has 
been  long  enough  before  the  people  for  them  to 
comprehend  its  bearings,  they  are  generally  ready 
to  adopt  it.  The  Swiss,  however,  are  a  thrifty 
people,  living  and  doing  well  on  small  means, 
and  they  are  apt  to  boggle  at  large  financial  out- 
lays. The}^  are  wisely  suspicious  of  the  augmen- 
tation of  public  burdens  and  of  any  change  that 
threatens  the  simplicity  of  life  and  habits  which 
has  hitherto  characterised  them.  To  my  mind 
this  is  the  most  striking  lesson  of  the  Referen- 
dum. It  was  thought  by  many  that  such  an 
instrument  in  the  hands  of  the  democracy,  in 
conjunction  with  the  Initiative,  would  lead  to 
hast}^  and  ill-considered  legislation,  and,  in  short, 
would  soon  bring  about  a  general  political  de- 
luge. But  the  very  reverse  of  this  has  happened. 
The  Referendum  has  proved  the  Swiss  democracy 
to  be  conservative  to  the  very  core. 

The  Initiative  is  the  natural  corollary  of  the 
Referendum.  The  latter  sets  the  stamp  of  popu- 
lar approval,  or  the  reverse,  upon  a  measure 
which  has  been  proposed  for  legal  enactment ;  the 
Initiative  recognises  the  further  right  of  the 
people  to  a  first  voice  in  proposing  legislation. 


The  Sovereignty  of  the  People    43 

In  brief,  it  constitutionally  establishes  the  com- 
petence of  the  private  or  lay  person  to  set  afoot 
any  measure  for  the  reform  of  the  Constitution 
which  he  thinks  might  be  useful,  provided  he  can 
secure  the  signatures  of  fifty  thousand  persons  in 
its  favour.  Article  120  of  the  Federal  Constitu- 
tion says,  *  *  They  can  also  demand,  by  the  popu- 
lar Initiative,  the  abrogation  or  modification  of 
given  articles  of  the  Federal  Constitution,  as  well 
as  the  adoption  of  new  formal  dispositions."  It 
goes  on  to  say  that  when  fifty  thousand  Swiss 
citizens,  having  the  right  to  vote,  present  a  peti- 
tion of  this  kind,  the  question  shall  be  submitted 
to  the  people  whether  the  partial  revision  asked 
for  shall  take  place.  If  a  majority  of  the  persons 
casting  their  vote  pronounce  affirmatively,  then 
the  Federal  Assembly  must  set  about  making  the 
revision  indicated.  This,  of  course,  means  nothing 
more  than  that  the  Assembly  —  composed  of  the 
National  Council  and  the  Council  of  States— shall 
lay  the  matter  formally  before  the  people,  who  by 
means  of  the  Referendum  will  register  their  final 
yea  or  nay. 

The  popular  Initiative  is  now  constitutional  in 
the  major  part  of  the  cantons  ;  but  here,  as  in 
everything  else,  the  peculiar  genius  of  the  people 
strikingly  shows  itself.  In  few  of  these  cantons 
is  the  Initiative  exercised  in  the  same  way  and  to 
the  same  extent.  In  some  it  can  be  put  in  force 
only  at  the  Landsgemeinden  ;  in  others  it  is  ap- 
plicable  only    to  the    revision   of  the   cantonal 


44  Swiss  Life 

constitution  ;  while  in  others,  again,  it  may  be 
applied  to  the  whole  domain  of  legislation. 
|Thus  it  will  be  seen  how  the  communes  dele- 
gate certain  powers  to  the  canton,  and  the  canton, 
for  them,  certain  powers  to  the  Confederation. 
This  delegated  power  is  wielded  by  the  Federal 
Assembly,  which  consists  of  the  National  Council 
and  the  Council  of  States.  The  National  Council 
is  elected  direct,  on  the  basis  of  one  member  for 
every  twenty  thousand  persons  of  the  population, 
every  man  who  has  completed  his  twentieth  year 
being  entitled  to  a  vote.  The  Council  of  States 
consists  of  forty-four  members,  each  canton  send- 
ing two  members,  each  half-canton  ondS^ 

Both  the  members  of  the  National  Council  and 
the  members  of  the  Council  of  States  are  paid,  the 
first  from  the  Federal  treasury,  the  second  by  the 
cantonal  authorities.  Each  chamber  is  elected 
triennially,  and  the  two  meet  together  at  each  re- 
newal of  their  powers  to  elect  the  Federal  Coun- 
cil, which  corresponds,  in  a  sort,  to  the  British 
Cabinet,  and  is  composed  of  seven  members. 
Each  member,  chosen  from  the  National  Council, 
must  belong  to  a  different  canton,  and  on  election 
ceases  to  be  a  deputy.  This  Council  chooses 
every  year  from  its  own  members  a  president  and 
a  vice-president,  who  cannot  occupy  the  same 
post  two  years  in  succession.  The  President  of 
the  Federal  Council  is  the  President  of  the  Swiss 
Republic.  If  his  position  is  one  of  less  brilliance 
and  distinction  than  that  enjoyed  by  the  President 


The  Sovereignty  of  the  People    45 

of  the  French  Republic,  or  than  that  of  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  it  is  also  one  of  less 
personal  responsibility,  and  likewise  one  of  less 
danger  to  the  commonwealth  itself. 
^As  regards  the  Federal  Council,  there  is  one 
word  of  explanation  which  should  be  added  here. 
It  is  that  this  Council  is  the  very  opposite  of  the 
English  Cabinet  in  that  it  is  not  a  party  combina- 
tion. It  may  be,  and  as  a  matter  of  fact  is,  com- 
posed of  men  of  every  shade  of  political  feeling  ; 
but  all  party  bias  is  sunk  or  lost  sight  of  in  the 
duty  of  carrying  out  the  will  of  the  people,  who, 
as  we  have  seen,  possess  so  many  means  of  mak- 
ing that  will  known  and  felt.  In  this  respect  the 
Federal  Council  probably  resembles  no  other  re- 
sponsible executive  in  a  modern  state.  ^ 


CHAPTER  IV 


THE   GKMKINDEN   AND   THK    IvANDSGEMKINDEN 

SWITZERLAND  is  at  present,  as Wr.  Leslie 
Stephen  has  so  well  named  it,  "  the  Play- 
ground of  Europe"^  but  the  time  is  coming 
when  it  will  be  the  Mecca  of  all  students  and 
admirers  of  pure  and  unadulterated  democratic 
government.  The  historical  student  will  find  it 
developing  through  many  stages,  some  extremely 
curious  and  surprising,  which  even  to-day  show 
their  traces  in  customs  and  privileges  that  are 
almost  mediaeval  in  their  unconventional  quaint- 
ness  and  oddity.  The  ancient  costumes  of  the 
people,  save  here  and  there  in  remote  valleys,  are 
dying  out,  and  the  omnipresent  schoolmaster  is 
effacing  many  of  the  more  salient  differences  of 
character  which  mark  the  various  districts  of  the 
country  ;  but  there  are  certain  traits  and  institu- 
tions which  seem  to  give  hostages  to  time  and 
bid  defiance  to  change,  like  the  hills  which  over- 
shadow them.  Some  of  these  I  shall  have  occa- 
sion to  refer  to  in  subsequent  chapters,  and  I  will 
at  present,  therefore,  confine  my  attention  to  the 
commune  and  the  Lafidsgemeiiide. 

46 


Gemeinden  and  Landsgemeinden  47 

These  are  the  two  most  characteristic  institu- 
tions of  the  country,  and  one  cannot  properly 
understand  its  political  constitution,  either  as  re- 
gards the  Confederation  or  the  cantons,  without 
a  thorough  comprehension  of  them.  yMl  political 
life,  all  individual  right,  centres  in  the  commune^ 
or,  as  it  is  called  in  the  German-speaking  cantons, 
the  Gememde.  /The  Swiss  citizen  is  first  of  all  a 
member  of  his  commune.  Without  that  link 
there  is  no  citizenship.  The  commune  is  there- 
fore the  unit  of  political  life,  and  upon  it  the 
Federal  Constitution  is  based.  No  one  can  take 
away  a  man's  right  as  member  of  his  commune  ; 
only  by  his  own  act  may  a  man's  right  in  that 
respect  be  impaired  or  destroyed.  7* 

^(Jjie  commune  may  be  said  to  exist  both  in  the 
abstract  and  in  the  concrete  sense.  The  term 
carries  with  it  the  idea  of  certain  inalienable 
rights  and  privileges,  a  bond  whereby  certain  in- 
dividuals are  held  together  in  mutual  duty  and 
obligation,  a  social  possession  common  to  a  num- 
ber of  people;  but  it  also  carries  with  it  the  further 
signification  of  an  extent  of  land  to  which  these 
people  are  linked  by  right  of  birth,  and  from 
which  they  cannot  be  divorced.  This  land  is 
held  by  them  in  common^^  Hence  the  name  com- 
mune, or  Gemeinde^  whicli  means  the  same  thing. 
There  are  three  thousand  of  these  communes  in 
Switzerland,  varying  vastly  in  size,  in  tne  nature 
of  their  soil,  in  their  products,  and  in  other  par- 
ticulars.    Some  of  them,  of  course,  are  purely 


4^  Swiss  Life 

agricultural,  sparsely  populated,  and  very  poor. 
Others,  being  the  sites  of  large  towns  or  thriving 
villages,  are  in  a  very  different  position  as  regards 
wealth  and  the  amenities  of  life  from  those  wherein 
a  niggard  soil  has  to  be  laboured  and  belaboured 
early  and  late  in  order  to  extract  from  it  the 
barest  subsistence.  /Originally,  all  the  inhab- 
itants of  a  communS^  had  equal  rights  in  the 
communal  lands.  But  in  course  of  time,  as  popu- 
lations moved  about  more  freely,  and  strangers 
began  to  settle  in  communes  in  which  they  were 
not  born,  there  gradually  arose  two  classes  of 
burgesses,  one  known  as  the  Burger ^  or  citizen 
proper,  the  other  known  as  an  *' inhabitant " 
merely. 

The  difference  is  essential.  The  Burger,  or 
descendant  of  the  original  settlers,  alone  has  the 
right  to  take  part  in  the  management  of  the  com- 
munal lands.  The  assembly  in  which  he  and  his 
fellow-citizens  discuss  questions  concerning  these 
lands  is  called  the  Bilrgergemeinde.  It  is  almost 
identical  with  the  Communal  Assembly,  which 
controls  the  political  affairs  of  the  commune;  save 
that  when  a  question  touching  the  communal 
lands  comes  up  for  decision,  the  later  arrivals  or 
"inhabitants"  refrain  from  voting. 

This  distinction  between  Burger  and  ' '  inhabit- 
ant "  is  very  sharply  drawn  in  some  of  the  older 
and  more  conservative  cantons  ;  but  it  is  begin- 
ning to  give  way  to  larger  and  more  reasonable 
views. 


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Gemeinden  and  Landsgemeinden  49 

Only  a  few  months  ago  one  of  these  vestiges  of 
rights  coming  down  from  the  Middle  Ages  was 
done  away  with  in  the  canton  of  Berne.  Near 
Langenthal  there  is  an  extensive  pasturage, 
which  at  one  time  belonged  to  the  convent  of  St. 
Urbain,  but  which  subsequently  became  the 
property  of  the  communes  of  Langenthal  and 
Schoren.  The  ancient  right  of  pasturage  on  this 
laud  was  maintained,  even  though  some  of  the 
burgesses  had  acquired  portions  of  it  by  purchase. 
Thence  arose  a  very  strange  anomaly  :  for  whilst 
during  several  weeks  in  the  autumn  the  Burgers 
of  Langenthal  and  Schoren  could  send  their  cattle 
to  feed  upon  these  pastures,  those  who  were 
merely  ''  inhabitants  "  were  prohibited  from 
doing  so,  even  though  some  of  them  had  become 
owners  of  portions  of  the  land  in  question.  It 
was  seen  at  length  that  this  state  of  things  could 
not  continue,  and  so  for  a  sum  of  twenty  thou- 
sand francs  the  two  communes  agreed  to  allow  to 
all.  Burgers  and  '  *  inhabitants ' '  alike,  equal 
rights  of  pasturage. 

The  relations  between  the  two  kinds  of  com- 
munal rights  existing  in  the  same  Gemeinde — 
that  is,  between  the/^ights  of  the  Burger  and  the 
lesser  rights  of  the  *  inhabitant  " — have  been  the 
occasion  of  a  great  deal  of  trouble  in  some  of 
the  cantons.  /There  is,  perhaps,  no  single  ques- 
tion connected  with  Swiss  politics  that  has  gi\^n 
rise  to  so  much  (iiscussion  and  difference^  of 
opinion  between  opposing  partfts.     The  aim  of 


50  Swiss  Life 

the  A.adical  party  has  been  for  years  to  abolish 
the  so-called  ''Burger  communes,"  and  to  estab- 
lish in  their  place  what  they  term  * '  uniform  ' ' 
communes — that  is,  communes  that  shall  embrace 
all  the  inhabitants.  VThe  idea  is  making  steady 
progress,  although  it  must  be  confessed  that  it  is 
slow,  except  in  the  more  progressive  French- 
speaking  cantons. 

The  laws  and  customs  which  obtain  in  the 
various  communes  are  apt  to  differ  in  very  ma- 
terial ways.  Each  commune,  however,  is  in 
itself  free  and  independent.  So  long  as  it  does 
not  go  beyond  its  own  proper  privileges  there 
is  no  one  to  interfere  with  it.  Vfeach  com- 
mune is  sufficient  for  itself,  being  practically, 
whether  small  or  large,  a  state  in  miniature, 
with  an  organised  government,  consisting  of  an 
executive  and  a  deliberative  body.  ^ In  the  Qer- 
man-speaking  parts  of  Switzerland,  the  latter 
body,  known  as  the  Gemeinderath,  is  composed 
of  all  the  male  burgesses — that  is,  of  all  the  resi- 
dent males  who  have'^'^tained  twenty  years  of 
age.  They  meet  together  at  stated  periods  and 
decide  questions  of  public  importance.  At  these 
assemblies,  too,  the  annual  budget  is  fixed,  the 
communal  accounts  are  passed,  new  taxes  levied, 
and  the  executive  council  and  other  local  officials 
elected.  In  some  of  the  cantons  attendance  at 
these  meetings  is  compulsory,  and  there  is  a  fine 
for  non-attendance.  The  executive,  or,  as  it  is 
sometimes  called,  Communal  Council,  consists  of 


y 


Gemeinden  and  Landsgemeinden  51 

three  or  four  members,  and  is  presided  over  by  a 
mayor  or  syndic.  In  the  larger  communes  there 
is  a  more  extensive  differentiation  of  function, 
special  committees,  for  instance,  having  charge 
of  the  schools  and  matters  pertaining  to  educa- 
tion, or  it  may  be  having  the  supervision  of  the 
roads,  public  buildings,  water  rights,  and  so  forth. 
As  already  said,  the  communal  system  exists 
throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  Switzer- 
land, and  is  the  fountain-head  of  all  political  life 
There  is,  however,  a  difference  between  the  com. 
munal  life  of  the  French-speaking  or  Wiclsch 
cantons  and  that  in  which  German  is  the  mother 
tongue.  It  is  in  this  part  of  Switzerland  that  the 
communal  spirit  is  seen  in  its  sturdiest  form.  To 
the  French  Swiss  the  feeling  of  the  sovereignty  of 
the  commune  seems  to  come  less  naturally  than 
to  the  German  Swiss,  who  have  been  nurtured  in 
this  "elementary  school  of  liberty"  for  age^ 
M.  Dubs,  in  his  work,  Le  Droit  Public  de  la  Con- 
federation  Suisse,  says^y  In  French  Switzerland 
there  is  a  general  idea  that  communal  life  eman- 
ates from  above,  and  we  have  no  sort  of  communal 
assembl}^  -^Sometimes  the  communal  electors 
merely  have  the  right  of  electing  the  Communal 
Council,  which  is  responsible  for  nominating  the 
Municipal  Council,  or  Executive.  This  lack  of 
communal  life  reacts  on  the  political  life,  and  the 
French-speaking  peoples  are  much  too  ready  to 
listen  to  those  in  power  and  wait  for  them  to  take 
the  initiative."     The  distinction  is  summed  up 


52  Swiss  Life 

ver)^  concisely  by  Mr.  A.  L.  Lowell. '  V^-^^^^^S 
the  Germans,"  he  says,  "  there  is  more  jealousy 
and  distrust  of  the  government,  and  more  con- 
fidence in  the  direct  action  of  the  people  ;  while 
the  French  are  less  democratic  in  the  Swiss  sense 
of  the  term,  and  more  inclined  to  follow  the  lead 
of  the  regular  authorities?***i5^ 

It  need  hardly  be  said  that  the  communes,  as 
the  units  of  political  life,  present  the  greatest 
possible  variety  in  their  laws  and  methods  of  pro- 
cedure.  ■"'I'lT  the  older  and  more  sparsely  populated 
cantons,  like  Zug  and  Uri,  we  find  the  simplest 
forms.  In  the  assemblies  for  public  business  all 
the  burgesses  vote  directly,  not  by  representative. 
In  populous  places  like  Berne  and  Zurich  this  is, 
of  course,  impossible.  In  such  towns,  therefore, 
it  is  necessary  to  have  Councils  elected  by  the 
people.  In  Berne,  since  1887,  there  has  been  a 
Genieinderath^  or  Communal  Council,  of  nine 
members,  and  a  Municipal  Council,  which  acts 
as  a  check  on  the  Communal  Council.  These 
Councils  are  elected  annually  by  the  people  of 
the  commune,  who,  however,  in  no  way  give  up 
their  powers  to  them  ;  hence  there  must  be  an 
annual  voting  on  all  questions  of  importance,  and 
on  these  occasions  the  people  are  very  ready  to 
show  their  independence  and  their  public  spirit. 
Thus  in  the  summer  of  1896  the  people  of  Berne 
were  asked  to  sanction  the  introduction  of  propor- 
tional representation  in  the  election  of  the  Com- 
'  The  Referendum  and  the  Initiative. 


Gemeinden  and  Landsgemeinden  53 

munal  Council,  a  proposal  which  was  rejected. 
On  the  same  occasion  they  adopted  a  suggestion 
for  reducing  the  price  of  gas  and  a  proposition 
with  reference  to  the  maintenance  of  the  cathedral 
tower.  It  will  ,^  seen  from  these  instances  how 
thoroughly  the^wiss  people  keep  their  hands  on 
public  business.  ^  They  never,  in  fact,  wholly  re- 
linquish the  check-rein  on  their  public  bodies^'s 
Moreover,  they  not  only  reserve  to  themselves 
the  power  to  reject  measures  proposed  to  them, 
but  they  jealously  guard  the  right  of  Initiative. 
Thus  in  Berne  any  five  hundred  citizens  may 
submit  a  proposal  to  the  Councils,  which  they  in 
due  course  are  bound  to  lay  before  the  people. 

Znrip]-|,j-)rpspnts  a  similar  state  of  things.  Zu- 
rich has  been  said  to  be  the  most  democratic  and 
go-ahead  community  in  Switzerland,  and  it  well 
deserves  the  reputation.  ^TTTs  people  never  hesitate 
to  make  a  change  if  it  seems  likely  to  prove  an 
improvement  In  1891,  they  made  a  thorough 
reorganisation  of  the  commune,  forming  for  de- 
liberative purposes  a  Grand  Municipal  Council, 
and  an  Executive  Council  composed  of  nine  mem- 
bers. But  here,  too,  as  in  the  case  of  Berne, 
there  is  no  surrender  of  power.  All  matters  of 
the  first  importance  must  be  submitted  to  the 
popular  vote,  as  well  as  all  financial  proposals 
over  a  certain  amount.  Thus,  in  1896,  the  people, 
having  already  acquired  existing  tramways,  ac- 
cepted a  motion  to  lay  down  three  additional 
lines.     They  at  the  same  time  voted  in  favour  of 


54  Swiss  Life 

a  proposition  for  buying  land  whereon  to  erect 
workmen's  dwellings.  As  in  Berne,  any  body  of 
citizens  in  Zurich  can  initiate  legislation,  provided 
they  are  able  to  get  their  proposal  backed  by  eight 
hundred  voters. 

In  what  are  known  as  the  Landsgemeinde  can- 
tons, namely,  Uri,  Glarus,  Obwald,  Nidwald,  and 
the  two  Appenzells,  there  is  usually  but  one  coun- 
cil, which  is  the  executive,  everything  of  a  legis- 
lative nature  being  transacted  at  the  communal 
meetings.  There  once  a  year,  generally  on  the 
last  Sunday  in  April  or  the  first  Sunday  in  May, 
the  whole  body  of  burghers  assemble  in  their  ca- 
pacity of  legislators.  This  is  the  Landsgemeinde. 
Here  the  democratic  principle  in  its  purest  form 
is  seen  at  work,  the  right  of  Initiative  as  well 
as  that  of  the  Referendum  finding  in  it  at  one 
and  the  same  time  their  natural  expression.  In 
the  canton  of  Glarus  the  burghers  are  invited 
once  a  year,  in  the  month  of  January,  to  present 
to  the  Landrath  any  propositions  with  reference 
to  legislation  they  desire  to  bring  forward,  and  it 
is  rare  that  a  number  are  not  sent  in.  The  Land- 
rath  decides  as  to  their  importance,  and  as  to 
whether  they  are  or  are  not  worthy  of  being  sub- 
mitted for  discussion  to  the  Landsgemeinde.  But 
even  those  propositions  not  considered  of  sufficient 
importance  to  be  discussed  cannot  be  withheld 
altogether  from  the  people,  but  must  be  submitted 
and  either  rejected  en  bloc  or  referred  for  discus- 
sion at  the  next  annual  meeting.     The  Landsge* 


Gemeinden  and  Laiidsgemeinden  55 

meinde  of  Glarus  is  one  of  the  most  striking  of 
all  as  regards  some  of  its  features.  As  at  other 
Landsgemei7iden,  the  women  and  children  are 
privileged  to  attend  ;  but  in  this  case  they  are 
given  the  place  of  honour,  being  seated  in  the 
very  front  of  the  assembly.  Here  they  listen  to  the 
discussion  of  the  affairs  of  the  canton,  in  which, 
perhaps,  their  fathers  or  brothers  take  an  active 
part,  and  cannot,  of  course,  help  being  impressed — 
the  children  especially — by  the  simple  and  yet  dig- 
nified ceremony,  transacted,  as  it  is,  under  the  eye 
of  heaven  and  in  view  of  the  snow-clad  mountains. 

I  have  had  the  privilege  and  pleasure  of  attend- 
ing two  Landsgemeinde  gatherings,  and  I  know 
of  nothing  in  the  way  of  public  electoral  functions 
more  strikingly  interesting,  and  at  the  same  time 
more  wonderfully  picturesque.  The  Landsge- 
meinde of  Uri  takes  place  in  a  meadow  at  Schad- 
dorf,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  from 
Altdorf.  The  cantonal  authorities,  mounted, 
and  with  the  Landa7nman  (or  president)  at  their 
head,  march  from  Altdorf  to  the  place  of  meeting, 
preceded  by  a  detachment  of  soldiers  and  a  band 
of  music.  The  standard  of  the  canton  is  con- 
spicuous in  the  forefront  of  the  procession,  and 
along  with  it  go  two  men  in  old-time  costume, 
bearing  aloft  the  two  bull's  horns,  which  are  at 
once  the  insignia  and  symbol  of  Uri  sovereignty. 

The  business  before  the  assembly  on  the  occa- 
sion referred  to  was  very  brief.  From  the  hust- 
ings erected  for  the  occasion  the  different  matters 


56  Swiss  Life 

to  be  settled  —  and  they  were  very  few  —  were 
explained  to  the  people  present,  the  arguments 
for  and  against  were  stated  by  the  various  speak- 
ers, and  then  the  questions  were  put  to  the  vote, 
and  decided  by  show  of  hands.  When  the  agenda 
had  been  despatched,  the  Landammmi  and  the 
other  public  officials  resigned  their  positions,  and 
were  either  re-elected  or  others  were  chosen  in 
their  place.  The  whole  function  occupied  little 
more  than  an  hour,  and,  it  need  hardly  be  said, 
was  extremely  quaint.  It  reminded  one,  in  its 
general  features,  of  nothing  so  much  as  an  old- 
time  Yorkshire  camp-meeting,  when  teetotallers 
used  to  march,  with  banners  flying  and  band  play- 
ing, to  a  suitable  field  near  the  village,  and  there 
hold  forth  in  the  pleasant  sunshine  on  their  beloved 
topic  ;  only,  as  regards  costume,  the  Swiss,  of 
course,  presented  a  much  more  picturesque  appear- 
ance than  the  English.  In  the  one  case,  as  in  the 
other,  prayer  brought  the  proceedings  to  a  close. 
Equally  picturesque,  and  even  more  mediaeval, 
is  the  Landsgemeinde  of  Appenzell-inner-Rhoden. 
Next  to  Basel-Stadt  (which  comprises  this  city 
only),  this  half-canton  is  the  smallest  of  the 
States  composing  the  Confederation,  and  num- 
bers but  from  twelve  to  thirteen  thousand  inhabit- 
ants, all  except  some  six  or  seven  hundred  of 
them  being  Catholics.  The  Landsgemeinde  is 
held  in  the  public  square  of  Appenzell,  which 
puts  on  quite  a  festive  appearance  for  the  occa- 
sion.    The  windows  of  the  houses  are  thronged 


Gemeinden  and  Landsgemeinden  57 

with  the  women-folk  dressed  in  their  old-time 
costume,  and  with  children  to  whom  it  is  the  gala 
of  the  year.  The  town  is  almost  entirely  ringed 
in  with  high  hills  and  towering  peaks,  Hoher 
Kasten  and  Kamor  being  among  the  highest ; 
and  they,  together  with  the  green  height  carry- 
ing at  its  top  the  ruins  of  Castle  Clanx,  can  be 
seen  from  the  spot  where  is  celebrated  the  great 
yearly  function  of  the  little  State. 

As  in  the  case  of  Uri,  there  is  a  procession  of 
the  cantonal  officials.  It  starts  from  the  build- 
ings devoted  to  public  business,  and  is  headed  by 
the  Landamman^  who  is,  however,  preceded  by  a 
couple  of  State  functionaries  carrying  halberds. 
All  except  the  Layidweibel,  or  bailiff,  are  clothed 
in  black  gowns  which  descend  to  the  feet  ;  the 
latter  being  robed  half  in  white  and  half  in  black, 
those  being  the  colours  of  the  little  common- 
wealth. On  one  side  of  the  square  are  two  plat- 
forms, much  like  the  old  election  hustings  in 
England.  Upon  the  higher  one,  the  ends  whereof 
are  adorned  with  a  sword  of  Justice,  the  State 
officials  take  their  places,  while  upon  the  lower  one 
the  judges  of  the  Cantonal  Court  appear  in  their 
robes.  The  space  in  front  of  the  hustings  soon 
fills  with  the  members  of  the  Landsgemeinde — the 
ehr-U7id-wehrfest  (true  and  steadfast)  men  of  the 
community — all  clad  in  their  decent  church-going 
clothes,  chiefly  black,  and  all  wearing  by  their 
side  an  old  sword  or  sabre,  as  sign  and  symbol 
of  their  freedom.      Some  of  the  younger  men, 


58  Swiss  Life 

however,  appear  in  costume,  and  thus  give  a  touch 
of  colour  to  the  scene.  If  the  attendance  be  very 
good  there  may  be  from  two  thousand  to  twenty- 
four  hundred  ''good  men  and  true"  present. 
Reverently,  with  heads  uncovered,  they  stand 
while  the  Landamman  opens  the  day's  proceed- 
ings with  a  speech,  dealing  with  such  matters  as 
are  uppermost  for  the  time  being  in  the  public 
mind.  It  is  a  sight  to  remember,  this  simple  and 
stalwart  crowd,  which  presents  here  and  there 
figures  of  the  rarest  type — Capuchin  monks,  peas- 
ants, herdsmen — that  might  have  stepped,  so  odd 
and  strange  are  they,  clean  out  of  the  Middle 
Ages.  Having  concluded  his  discourse,  the  Lan- 
damman lays  down  the  seal  of  State,  and  descends 
from  the  platform,  whereupon  the  Landschreiber 
{i.  e.  the  cantonal  secretary)  invites  the  Landsge- 
meinde  to  choose  a  successor,  his  election  or  re- 
election being  followed'  by  that  of  the  other 
officers  of  State,  and  the  assembly  is  brought  to  a 
close  by  the  new  Layidamman  and  then  the  people 
taking  the  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  State. 

This  administering  of  the  oath  is  a  very  striking 
ceremony.  The  Landschreiber  reads  the  oath 
from  the  Landbuch,  a  portly  volume  with  heavy 
silver  clasps,  dating  from  about  the  time  when 
the  English  were  whetting  their  swords  to  deal 
with  Philip  of  Spain's  Armada.  While  the  oath 
is  being  recited,  the  w^-^  Landamman  stands  w^ith 
head  bent  low  and  raised  right  hand,  the  fingers 
of  which  are  held  as  the  priest  holds  his  in  bless- 


i.:i 


HERDSMAN  OF  APPENZELL-INNER-flHODEN 


Gemeinden  and  Landsgemeinden  59 

ing,  and  the  ancient  ^sculapian  in  mesmerising. 
After  the  Landamman  has  taken  the  oath,  the 
whole  Landsgemeinde  repeat  it  after  him,  with 
the  right  hand  raised  in  the  same  way,  and  so  the 
function  comes  to  a  close. 

Whilst  Inner-Rhoden  is  holding  its  Landsge- 
meinde at  Appenzell,  the  neighbouring  half- 
canton  of  Ausser-Rhoden  gathers  its  people  at 
Hundwil.  They  come  in  greater  numbers  to 
Hundwil  than  to  Appenzell,  Ausser-Rhoden  be- 
ing able  to  muster  its  ten  thousand  ehr-imd- 
wehrfest  men  ;  and  a  moving  scene  it  is  to  hear 
and  see  the  great  assembly  as  it  opens  the 
day's  proceedings  with  the  hymn  Alles  Leben 
strbmt  aiis  Dir  ('*  From  Thee  all  Life  doth 
Stream")-  As  showing  the  nature  of  the  busi- 
ness that  comes  before  the  La?idsgemeinde,  let  me 
sa}^  briefly  that,  at  the  assembly  held  on  the  last 
Sunday  in  April  of  this  year,  the  people  in  their 
sovereign  capacity  rejected  a  proposal  for  the  total 
revision  of  the  cantonal  constitution,  a  law  relat- 
ing to  the  assurance  of  cattle,  as  well  as  another 
having  to  do  with  the  rights  of  pasturage  on  the 
Alpine  meadow^s.  The  Landsgemeinde^  however, 
at  the  same  time  gave  its  sanction  to  a  law  relat- 
ing to  colportage  and  the  public  markets,  as  well 
as  to  a  project  for  the  revision  of  the  law  concern- 
ing the  cantonal  bank,  and  another  relating  to 
the  execution  of  the  Federal  law  in  relation  to 
actions  at  law  and  bankruptcy.  A  well-known 
State  Councillor  was  appointed  La7idamman,  and 


6o  Swiss  Life 

two  new  members  of  the  Landrath  were  likewise 
elected  ;  then,  with  mutual  oaths  of  fidelity  to 
each  other  and  the  State,  the  proceedings  were 
brought  to  a  close. 

On  the  same  day  as  the  above,  the  Landsge- 
meinden  of  the  two  Unterwaldens  took  place. 
That  of  Obwald  was  held  at  Sarnen,  on  the 
classic  Landenberg,  and  in  spite  of  very  bad 
weather,  called  together  between  twelve  and 
fifteen  hundred  burghers.  Three  measures  of 
importance  were  submitted  to  the  assembly,  two 
of  which,  one  proposing  the  revision  of  the  con- 
stitution, and  another  relating  to  the  protection 
of  artisans,  were  adopted,  while  a  third,  which 
concerned  a  proposition  for  the  employment  of 
water-power  for  the  driving  of  electrical  ma- 
chinery, was  rejected. 

The  Layidsgemeinde  of  Nidwald,  held  at  Stans, 
had  three  or  four  matters  of  some  importance  be- 
fore it,  but  all  were  rejected.  One  had  relation 
to  a  total  revision  of  the  constitution.  These 
suggestions  are  periodically  cropping  up  all  over 
the  country,  and  are  generally  incontinently 
knocked  on  the  head.  Then  there  were  two 
tariff  proposals,  which  met  with  no  better  luck  ; 
finally,  there  was  an  "Initiative"  proposal  for 
the  reintroduction  of  public  dancing  on  the  occa- 
sion of  fairs,  etc.  This  suggestion,  we  are  told, 
was  rejected  by  a  large  majority,  which  was  to  be 
expected,  the  Nidwaldners  being,  as  a  rule,  sturdy 
Protestants. 


CHAPTER  V 


PUBLIC  EDUCATION 


THE  Swiss  boy  and  girl  are  educated  with  a 
distinct  regard  to  the  respective  positions 
they  will  have  to  fill  as  citizens.  They  are  edu- 
cated, too,  as  far  as  possible — due  regard  being 
had,  of  course,  to  their  respective  future  duties — 
with  equal  breadth  ancl  thoroughness  in  all  de- 
partments of  learning,  fin  short,  the  girl  is  given 
the  same  chances  as  the  boy  for  mental  and 
physical  development  in  the  way  of  preparation 
for  professional  or  other  life  ;  while,  as  regards 
both,  there  is  as  fair  an  equality  of  opportunity 
provided  by  the  State  as  is  to  be  found  in  any 
country  in  the  world,  and  a  fairer  equality  than 
in  most.  5> 

It  is  in  no  sense  an  exaggeration  to  say  that  the 
Swiss  are  of  all  peoples  the  most  thoroughly  im- 
bued with  the  need  of  education,  and  at  the  same 
time  the  most  conscientious  in  seeing  that  its 
blessings  shall  be  brought  to  every  man's  door, 
or  as  near  thereto  as  is  physicallj^  possible.  A 
noted  Englishman  whom  I  once  met  in  Switzer- 
land characterised  them  as  '*  educational  cranks." 

6i 


62  Swiss  Life 

But  then  he  was  typical  of  those  of  his  country- 
men who  sum  up  their  views  in  regard  to  educa- 
tion in  the  phrase,  "Why  teach  anything?" 
There  was  truer  insight  in  the  Frenchman  who 
said,  "  The  Swiss,  almost  alone  amongst  nations, 
have  the  pedagogic  instinct."  The  peculiarity 
may  arise  in  part  from  the  fact  that  so  many  of 
its  sons  —  Rousseau,  Pestalozzi,  Father  Girard, 
Fellenberg,  and  their  disciples  —  have  devoted 
their  attention  to  the  subject  of  education,  and, 
indeed,  may  be  said  to  have  established  the  prin- 
ciples of  modern  education.  The  good  work  they 
began,  their  fellow-countrymen  continue  with 
unabated  perseverance,  and  with  a  fine  insight 
and  method  which  are  eminently  worthy  of  study 
and  emulation.  1 

**  In  the  matter  of  education,"  wrote  Sir  Horace 
Rumbold,  when  Secretary  of  Legation  at  Berne, 
*'  the  Swiss  people  manifest  a  veritable  passion, 
and  it  is  a  thing  worthy  of  sincere  admiration 
.  to  note  what  heavy  self-imposed  pecuni- 
ary sacrifices  they  cheerfully  make  to  the  cause. 
The  public  foundations,  the  private  gifts,  the 
State  contributions  devoted  to  education  by  this 
otherwise  thrifty,  close-fisted  race,  may  be  truly 
said  to  be  noble  in  the  extreme. "  '  *  Our  people, ' ' 
says  M.  Seippel,  "  have  never  found  too  heavy 
the  sacrifices  that  were  demanded  of  them  on  be- 
half of  public  instruction.  They  have  always 
understood  that  in  elevating  their  children  they 
were  elevating  themselves. ' '     Taking  the  country 


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Public  Education  63 

as  a  whole,  the  average  of  education  is  very  high, 
and  not  the  least  remarkable  feature  about  the 
system  of  public  instruction  is  that  it  aims  at  pro- 
ducing practical  men — a  respect  in  which,  it  must 
be  said,  it  is  singularly  successful.  There  are 
few  countries  in  which  can  be  found  so  many  men 
who  are  able  to  turn  their  hands  —  and  with  suc- 
cess— to  different  things.  The  same  may  be  said 
of  the  women.  All  appear  to  have  some  gift  or 
handicraft  at  their  fingers'  ends,  whereby  they 
can,  in  case  of  need,  earn  their  bread. 

The  present  system  of  education  dates  from 
1874,  when  Switzerland  may  be  said  to  have 
taken  a  fresh  start  in  the  world.  Previous  to 
1848,  most  of  the  cantons  had  organized  a  system 
of  primary  schools  ;  in  that  year,  like  most  other 
things,  they  received  a  renewed  impulse  and  im- 
petus, which  has  continued  growing  and  de- 
veloping ever  since.  In  1874,  education  was 
made  compulsory,  and  placed  under  the  civil 
authority.  According  to  Article  27  of  the  Federal 
Constitution  adopted  in  that  year,  primary  in- 
struction is  required  to  be  "  sufficient,  obligatory, 
gratuitous,  and  unsectarian."  But  while  the 
Constitution  saj^s  so  much,  ordaining  also  that 
every  child  shall  enjoy  the  privileges  of  instruc- 
tion until  twelve  years  of  age,  it  leaves  the 
carrying  out  of  the  law  as  regards  education  to 
the  several  cantons.  Kach  canton,  in  conse- 
quence, has  its  own  methods  of  public  instruction. 
This  is  quite  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  which 


64  Swiss  Life 

everywhere  prevails  of  allowing  to  the  cantons  the 
regulation  and  development  of  their  own  affairs. 
Thus,  along  with  general  unity,  room  is  given 
for  much  diversity,  and  it  is  probable  that  the 
diversity  favours  strength  rather  than  weakness. 

For  instance,  though,  so  far  as  the  Federal  law 
is  concerned,  twelve  is  fixed  as  the  limit  of  prim- 
ary school  age,  yet  in  some  cantons  this  is  raised 
to  fourteen,  fifteen,  and  even  sixteen  years  of  age. 
In  like  manner  the  first  school-year  varies  from 
five  to  seven  in  different  cantons.  The  subjects 
taught  also  vary  greatly.  Schwyz  and  Geneva, 
for  instance,  combine  the  teaching  of  the  natural 
sciences  with  that  of  the  maternal  language. 
While,  however,  in  Schwyz  the  teaching  of  the 
catechism  is  obligatory  for  all  Catholic  children, 
in  Geneva  what  religious  instruction  is  given  is 
couched  in  the  broadest  spirit.  Geneva  has  in- 
troduced the  tuition  of  German,  for  three  hours  a 
week,  from  the  age  of  eleven.  In  Schwyz  there 
is  no  instruction  in  geometry  ;  while  in  Basel- 
Campagne,  as  regards  drawing,  instruction  is 
limited  to  geometrical  outlines.  In  Geneva  the 
school  course  requires  three  hours  per  week  to  be 
devoted  to  manual  work. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  in  this  connection  that,  of 
the  5232  schools  possessed  by  Switzerland,  1060 
give  lessons  in  gymnastics  all  the  year  round, 
while  3412  give  them  during  a  part  of  the  year. 
Only  a  sixteenth  of  the  whole  exclude  gymnastics 
from  their  curriculum. 


Public  Education  65 

The  maximum  number  of  scholars  confided  to 
one  master  varies  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  and 
twenty.  In  Geneva  and  Neuchatel  the  number 
has  been  fixed  at  fifty,  while  in  Zurich  the  limit 
is  put  at  one  hundred,  and  in  Basel-land  at  one 
hundred  and  twenty.  Manual  work  in  the  form 
of  cutting  out  is  compulsory  for  girls  in  most  of 
the  cantons  ;  in  others  it  is  optional.  The  time 
devoted  to  these  matters  varies  from  two  to  eight 
hours  a  week. 

In  French  Switzerland,  or,  as  the  people  them- 
selves prefer  to  say,  in  la  Suisse  ro^nande,  infant 
schools  form  the  basis  or  the  lower  branch  of  the 
elementary  schools,  and  are  under  public  control. 
In  other  parts  of  the  country  they  are  more  a 
matter  of  private  enterprise.  In  north  and  east 
Switzerland  they  are  rather  caretaking  schools, 
in  which  little  or  no  instruction  is  given,  except 
in  the  shape  of  exercises  and  plays  designed  to 
call  out  and  direct  the  various  activities  of  the 
little  ones.  It  should  be  said  that  for  school- 
children who  are  too  poor  to  obtain  proper  food 
and  clothing  both  public  and  private  assistance  is 
freely  rendered. 

As  in  other  matters  connected  with  primary  in- 
struction, great  variety  also  exists  in  the  differ«ent 
cantons  in  regard  to  the  authority  which  has  con- 
trol of  the  schools.  While  the  chief  authority  is 
in  some  cases  vested  in  an  educational  department 
or  educational  council,  or  both,  in  others  it  is  en- 
trusted to  a  director  of  education,  with  or  without 


66  Swiss  Life 

council.  As  regards  the  cost,  in  some  cantons 
the  charge  falls  almost  entirely  upon  the  com- 
munes ;  in  others  it  is  divided  between  the  canton 
and  the  communes. 

In  the  year  1897,  the  amount  contributed  by  the 
cantons  to  public  education  was  20,064,983  francs; 
while  the  amount  contributed  by  the  communes 
was  21,736,696  francs,  making  a  total  of  41,801,- 
679  francs  (or  $8,360,335),  that  is,  over  15  francs 
(or  $3)  per  head  of  the  population.  When  it  is 
said  that  the  military  expenditure  for  the  same 
year  amounted  to  28,408,879  francs,  it  will  be 
seen  how  great  is  the  store  the  Swiss  place  upon 
education. 

In  almost  every  village  throughout  the  land  the 
primary  schools  are  attended  by  the  children  of 
the  rich  and  poor  alike.  In  this  respect  there  is 
an  utter  absence  of  that  snobbishness,  so  prevalent 
elsewhere,  which  leads  parents  to  say  that  they 
cannot  send  their  children  to  the  common  schools 
because  of  the  bad  habits  they  would  be  likely  to 
contract.  I  once  asked  a  native  of  Zurich,  a  man 
extremely  well-to-do,  if  he  did  not  fear  such  con- 
tamination by  sending  his  children  to  the  primary 
schools.  He  smiled.  *'  No,"  said  he,  '*  I  have 
no  fear  of  the  kind.  Nor  has  my  wife.  She  even 
thinks" — here  his  smile  broadened — **  she  even 
thinks  that  the  presence  of  the  children  of  the 
rich  in  the  schools  tends  to  improve  the  manners 
of  those  who  are  of  poorer  parentage.  So,  you 
see,"  he  added  with  a  laugh,  '*  even  children  may 


Public  Education  67 

be  missionaries  in  a  sense. ' '  In  Switzerland  there 
is  no  class  of  vagrant  or  destitute  children  which 
the  educational  system  fails  to  reach,  ' '  and  the 
visitor,"  says  one  authority,  "  may  see  side  by 
side  the  orphan  who  is  fed  and  clothed  by  the 
commune  and  the  son  of  a  well-to-do  tradesman 
or  professional  man,  receiving  the  same  instruc- 
tion, each  being  under  precisely  the  same  dis- 
cipline." 

In  one  respect  only  does  there  appear  to  be 
some  slight  friction  in  regard  to  education,  and 
that  is  reduced  almost  to  a  minimum.  Article 
27  provides  that  public  schools  shall  be  **  so 
organised  that  they  may  be  frequented  by  those 
belonging  to  all  denominations  without  prejudice 
to  their  freedom  of  belief  or  of  conscience  "  ;  and 
the  Confederation  is  legally  bound  to  *'  take  such 
measures  as  may  seem  necessary  against  cantons 
which  do  not  fulfil  their  obligations  in  this  re- 
spect." During  the  years  immediately  following 
the  adoption  of  the  revised  Constitution  it  was 
perceived  by  those  who  were  not  friendly  to  any 
form  of  denominational  instruction  that  the  law 
touching  public  elementary  education  was  not 
being  strictly  adhered  to.  Religious  teaching 
was  continued  within  the  schools,  and  in  very 
many  communes  in  the  Catholic  cantons  the 
teachers  were  members  of  religious  associations. 
A  determined  effort  was  therefore  made  to  put  an 
end  to  this  state  of  things.  The  Radical  majority 
in  the  Federal  Assembly  passed  a  resolution,  by 


68  Swiss  Life 

the  terms  of  which  an  inquiry  was  to  be  made 
into  the  condition  of  the  schools  in  the  various 
cantons  and  evidence  collected  with  a  view  to 
future  legislation  on  the  subject.  The  publica- 
tion of  this  resolution  was  the  signal  for  an  out- 
cry of  '*  Religion  in  danger  !  "  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  land,  and  a  Referendum 
on  the  question  was  demanded,  the  result  being 
that  the  Federal  resolution  was  rejected  by  an 
immense  majority.  Nothing  shows  better  than 
this  the  spirit  of  the  country. 

With  the  freeing  of  primary  instruction  two 
other  movements  soon  began  to  make  themselves 
felt  throughout  Switzerland.  One  of  them  was 
for  the  equalising  of  education.  Already  in  many 
parts  of  the  country  the  gratuitousness  of  elemen- 
tary instruction  was  followed  by  a  diminution  of 
the  charges  imposed  for  the  acquisition  of  school 
material.  In  one  canton  the  State,  acting  as 
publisher,  could  give  books  at  the  lowest  possible 
price  ;  in  another  it  helped  the  communes  to  pro- 
vide such  material  gratis  by  giving  subsidies. 
Elsewhere  the  gratuitous  provision  of  books  was 
made  general.  Meanwhile,  a  similar  movement 
was  set  afoot  to  extend  the  system  of  gratuitous 
instruction  to  the  secondary  schools,  as  in  Basel- 
Stadt,  by  augmenting  the  number  of  bursaries. 
This  was  the  means  of  greatly  increasing  the 
number  of  those  who  could  proceed,  without  let 
or  hindrance,  to  the  higher  branches  of  education 
— a  number  relatively  high  in  certain  cantons. 


Public  Education  69 

The  number  of  secondary  schools  to.  meet  the  de. 
mands  for  a  higher  education  is  very  large.  They 
include  preparatory  schools  of  all  kinds,  for  girls 
as  well  as  for  boys,  private  schools,  trade  schools, 
agricultural  and  technical  schools,  schools  of  art, 
and  so  forth.  Among  them  may  also  be  included 
the  various  colleges  ox gy7nnasia  and  the  industrial 
schools,  one  whereof  exists  in  almost  all  the  can- 
tonal capitals,  as  well  as  at  Winterthur,  Burgdorf, 
Porrentruy,  Einsiedeln,  Murten,  and  Brieg.  In 
the  Grisons,  in  Neuchatel,  Geneva,  and  Soleure, 
normal  schools  for  the  training  of  teachers  are 
attached  either  to  the  cantonal  schools  or  are 
connected  with  the  local  academy  or  University. 
But  separate  establishments  for  this  purpose  exist 
in  the  cantons  of  Zurich,  Berne,  Lucerne,  Schwyz, 
Freiburg,  St.  Gall,  Aargau,  Thurgau,  Tessin, 
Vaud,  and  Valais.  The  smaller  cantons,  by 
virtue  of  special  arrangements,  send  their  future 
teachers  to  the  seminaries  of  other  cantons. 
Seven  cantons  have  special  normal  schools  for 
girls,  namely,  Zurich,  Berne,  Aargau,  Tessin, 
Vaud,  Valais,  and  Neuchatel  (in  which  there  is 
also  a  Froebel  school  for  female  teachers). 

The  age  of  entry  into  the  normal  schools  is 
fixed  at  fourteen  in  the  Grisons,  at  sixteen  in 
Schwyz  and  at  Lausanne,  at  fifteen  in  other  can- 
tons. The  course  of  instruction  lasts  two  years 
in  Valais,  and  in  the  canton  of  Vaud  for  young 
women,  but  in  most  of  the  other  cantons  it  ex- 
tends to  three  and  four  years — in  this  respect 


70  Swiss  Life 

setting  a  worthy  example  to  English  colleges  for 
the  preparation  of  teachers,  where  two  years  is 
the  rule,  the  result  being  in  too  many  instances 
a  vast  amount  of  over-pressure,  particularly  in 
the  colleges  for  girls.  These  normal  schools  are 
gradually  changing  their  character  as  special 
centres  for  the  creation  of  teachers.  They  are 
being  brought  more  in  touch  with  public  life,  as 
well  as  more  directly  in  relation  with  the  public 
schools,  so  that  a  boy  or  girl  can  move  up  steadily 
step  by  step  from  the  primary  schools,  through 
the  secondary,  to  the  seminary,  college,  or  Uni- 
versity, where  he  or  she  may  complete  their 
education  for  the  teaching  profession.  For  in 
several  of  the  cantons  the  students  destined  for 
teachers  in  the  superior  primary  schools  finish 
their  course  at  the  University,  and  there  is  a 
strong  movement  abroad  to  give  all  primary 
school  teachers  the  same  advantage. 

Let  me  note  here,  too,  a  marked  tendency, 
especially  in  la  Suisse  romande,  to  put  girls  on  an 
absolute  equality  with  boys  from  the  point  of  view 
of  education.  We  see  the  evidences  of  it  in  the 
many  high  schools,  even  in  the  smaller  towns, 
where  a  girl's  education  may  be  continued  to  a 
fairly  high  level,  while  at  the  high  school  of 
Lausanne  a  girl  leaving  with  a  diploma  is  entitled 
to  continue  her  studies  at  the  University. 

The  stipends  enjoyed  by  teachers  vary  very 
considerably.  In  some  of  the  cantons  they  are 
as  high  as  from  2640  to  4000  francs  {i.  e.,  $528  to 


Public  Education  71 

00)  a  year,  with  a  retiring  allowance  of  six 
tenths  of  the  salary.  This  rate  of  pay,  however, 
is  exceptional,  the  descending  scale  of  payment 
going  in  some  cases — notably  in  Graubiinden  and 
Valais— as  low  as  340  and  300  francs  per  annum.' 
It  must  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that  in  these 
cantons  the  cost  of  living  is  not  only  much  lower 
than  in  other  parts  of  Switzerland,  and  in  the 
towns,  but  the  teachers  are  in  many  cases  pro- 
vided with  house  and  garden,  which  means  a 
great  deal. 

Zurich  is  generally  considered  to  be  ahead  of 
all  the  other  cantons  in  respect  to  the  thorough- 
ness and  efl&ciency  of  its  educational  system.  It 
certainly  devotes  itself  with  a  whole  heart  to  the 
education  of  its  future  citizens,  and  to  that  end 
spares  neither  trouble  nor  expense.  Yet  $11 
per  head  cannot  be  said  to  be  an  excessive  price 
to  pay  annually  on  this  account.  How  thorough 
is  its  system  may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that 
97.5  per  cent,  of  the  children  of  all  classes  attend 
the  public  elementary  schools,  although,  be  it 
said,  primary  instruction  in  private  schools  is  not 
interdicted.  In  one  canton,  at  least,  that  of 
Soleure,  all  children  are  compelled  to  attend  the 
public  schools. 

Statistics  give  the  following  particulars  in  re- 
gard to  school   attendance  :     In  the  Protestant 

'  For  much  of  the  information  contained  in  this  chap- 
ter I  am  indebted  to  a  report  issued  by  Herr  Grob, 
Director  of  Education  in  the  canton  of  Zurich. 


72  Swiss  Life 

cantons  the  proportion  of  school-attending  child- 
ren is  as  I  to  5  of  the  population;  in  the  half- 
Protestant,  half-Catholic  cantons,  the  proportion 
is  as  I  to  7 ;  while  in  the  cantons  which  are  wholly 
Catholic  the  proportion  is  as  i  to  9.  This  fact  is 
also  worthj^  of  note:  that  of  the  military  con- 
tingent of  1898  only  0.24  per  cent,  could  not  read, 
and  only  0.82  could  not  write. 

As  regards  religious  education,  the  greatest  di- 
versity of  practice  obtains  in  the  different  cantons. 
In  general  in  the  Protestant  cantons  religious  in- 
struction is  given  by  the  ministers  of  the  different 
sects  apart  from  the  secular  curriculum  of  the 
schools  ;  whilst  in  the  Catholic  cantons  the  oppo- 
site rule  is  observed,  religion  taking  its  place 
along  with  the  other  subjects  of  study.  In  some 
districts  this  instruction  is  imparted  by  the  regu- 
lar teachers;  but  in  Lucerne,  which  may  be  called 
the  capital  of  Catholic  Switzerland,  the  religious 
instruction  of  the  young  is  left  entirely  to  the  Ro- 
man Catholic  clergy.  In  Geneva  such  instruction, 
which  is  official,  but  optional  (parents  being  al- 
lowed full  liberty  in  letting  their  children  attend 
the  course  or  not),  is  given  in  all  the  primary 
and  secondary  schools.  Since  1888,  too,  a  higher 
course  of  instruction,  devoted  to  the  study  of  the 
origin  of  Christianity,  and  likewise  of  the  great 
non-Christian  religions,  has  been  introduced  by 
the  Consistory  into  the  upper  classes  of  the  high 
schools  for  boys  and  girls.  In  Vaud,  religion  is 
taught  in  the  public  elementary  schools  "  from 


Public  Education  73 

the  historical  point  of  view."  In  Neuchatel  there 
is  no  system  of  religious  instruction,  but  the 
schoolhouses  may  be  used  by  approved  persons, 
and  at  fitting  times,  for  imparting  such  instruc- 
tion. In  Appenzell-inner-Rhoden  religious  in- 
struction is  not  only  given  in  the  primary  and 
repetition  schools,  but  it  is  the  subject  chiefly  em- 
phasised. The  law  requires  that  one  member  of 
the  central  educational  committee  shall  be  a 
clergyman  (chosen  by  the  Grand  Council),  and 
that  on  each  local  board  also  a  cleric  shall  sit. 
Appenzell-inner-Rhoden  is  said  to  be  more  under 
the  domination  of  ecclesiastics  than  any  other 
canton,  and,  as  in  other  districts  where  the  same 
domination  prevails,  the  condition  of  education  is 
not  as  satisfactory  as  it  should  be.  According  to 
the  army  examination  records  of  the  three  can- 
tons which  show  the  highest  percentage  of  illiter- 
acy, Inner-Rhoden  bears  the  palm.  Uri  and 
Valais  complete  the  trio. 

It  is  to  the  honour  of  the  Swiss  that  they  have 
not  only  made  ample  provision  for  the  instruction 
of  the  young,  but  they  were  among  the  first  to 
complete  the  Magna  Charta  of  childhood  by  put- 
ting a  stop  to  the  employment  of  children  in  fac- 
tories. In  1877  they  followed  up  their  legislative 
Act  of  1874,  making  primary  education  free  and 
compulsory,  by  rendering  it  illegal  to  put  girls  or 
boys  to  work  in  factories  under  fifteen  years  of 
age. 

This  brief  account  of  what  is  being  done  for 


74  Swiss  Life 

education  in  Switzerland  would  be  incomplete 
without  a  few  words  about  the  universities,  of 
which  the  little  Republic,  with  its  three  millions  of 
population,  possesses  six,  besides  the  magnificent 
Federal  Polytechnic  at  Zurich.  Basel  is  the  only- 
one  of  any  antiquity,  having  been  founded  in  1460. 
It  enjoyed  a  high  reputation  under  Erasmus,  and 
it  has  since  numbered  among  its  professors  many 
celebrated  men.  The  other  five  universities  are 
all  of  modern  erection,  Berne  and  Zurich  dating 
from  the  third  decade  of  tt^e  nineteenth  century, 
while  the  oldest  of  those  belonging  to  la  Suisse 
romande,  Geneva,  does  not  yet  reckon  thirty  years 
of  existence,  although,  as  an  academy,  it  was 
founded  by  Calvin.  It,  too,  has  had  some  notable 
men  in  its  professorial  chairs,  not  the  least  re- 
markable of  them  being  the  late  Carl  Vogt,  who 
did  so  much  for  the  dissemination  of  Darwinian 
thought  on  the  Continent. 

The  University  of  Freiburg  hardly  ranks  with 
the  others,  being  under  the  patronage  of  the  Pope 
rather  than  under  that  of  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment. It  is  strongly  ultramontane  in  tendency, 
and  has  faculties  for  theology,  law,  and  philoso- 
ph)^  only.  All  these  institutions  are  carried  on  at 
the  charge  of  their  respective  cantonal  govern- 
ments; save  the  Polytechnic  at  Zurich,  which  is 
under  the  direction  of  the  Central  Government. 
No  institution  for  the  higher  education  of  the  peo- 
ple is  doing  a  more  useful  work  than  the  Poly- 
technic.    It  is  divided  into  seven  sections,  and 


Public  Education  75 

includes  courses  of  instruction  in  architecture, 
civil  engineering,  mechanism  as  applied  to  indus- 
try, practical  chemistry,  sylviculture  (i.  e.,  fores- 
try), and  agriculture,  and  there  is  a  department, 
also,  for  the  training  of  teachers.  The  Polytech- 
nic is  frequented  by  a  considerable  number  of 
students  (in  1897  ^^  was  871),  a  large  proportion 
of  whom  are  strangers.  The  same  may  be  said 
of  the  universities,  a  good  half  of  those  who 
throng  their  classes  being  non-Swiss.  Among 
the  foreign  students  may  be  counted  men  and 
women  from  ahnost  every  country  in  Europe;  but 
— in  the  eastern  universities  especially — Russians, 
perhaps,  bulk  most  numerously.  It  is,  again,  to 
the  credit  of  the  Swiss  that  they  were  the  first  to 
open  the  doors  of  their  universities  to  women. 

As  links  between  the  primary  schools  and  the 
universities  there  is  throughout  Switzerland  a 
rich  efflorescence  of  higher  educational  establish- 
ments, chiefly  secondary  or  district  schools,  styled 
in  French  Switzerland,  ecoles  moyennes  or  secon- 
daires^  and  in  Tessin,  scuole  elementari  7nagiori. 
The  middle  schools  of  a  preparatory  character — 
gymnasia,  as  they  are  sometimes  called — are  of 
two  classes:  (i)  Latin  schools  that  serve  as  step- 
ping-stones to  the  universities;  and  (2)  Real 
schools,  which  prepare  students  for  the  Polytech- 
nic. Some  of  the  cantons  unite  the  two  kinds  of 
gymnasia  (Latin,  or  Humanisti,  and  Real)  in  a 
cantonal  school. 

There  are  many  other  schools  and  colleges, 


76  Swiss  Life 

public  or  proprietary,  designed  to  give  such 
special  instruction  and  training  to  boys  and  girls 
as  will  fit  them  for  particular  vocations;  and  there 
is,  in  truth,  hardly  a  department  of  life  or  activity 
the  preparation  for  which  is  not  covered  by  a 
seminary  or  school  of  some  kind.  It  is  acknow- 
ledged by  the  Swiss  that  their  secondary  education 
is  not  organised  as  completely  as  it  might  be. 
The  material  is  there,  but  the  method  is  too  often 
defective.  In  Geneva,  perhaps,  the  most  perfect 
system  prevails,  and  it  is  the  boast  of  the  canton 
that,  since  1886,  when  a  new  law  in  regard  to 
public  instruction  was  passed,  the  institutions  for 
public  instruction  have  been  knit  together  in  one 
solid  organism,  every  part  of  which  works  har- 
moniously with  the  other  parts.  Thanks  to  that 
system,  says  a  recent  writer,^  the  student,  what- 
ever may  be  the  direction  of  his  studies  or  the 
profession  to  which  he  aspires,  now  finds  before 
him  a  sure  and  direct  way,  along  which  he  may 
progress  without  delay  and  without  interruption. 
In  this  respect  Geneva  is  ahead  of  the  other 
cantons;  but  its  neighbour  Vaud  is  not  far  behind 
and  the  more  advanced  German  cantons  are  feel- 
ing their  way  steadily  to  the  perfection  of  their 
educational  system.  In  any  case  there  is  no  lack 
of  machinery.  One  can  name  scarcely  an  art  or 
trade  of  any  description  that  has  not  its  school 
or  atelier  d' apprentissage  ('prentice  workshop). 
Among  the  number  may  be  mentioned  schools 
'  M.  Franjois  Guex,  La  Suisse  au  XIX""'-  Sihcle, 


Public  Education  "]"! 

for  instruction  in  silk-weaving,  in  wood  and  iron 
work,  in  mechanism  (as  applied  to  watch  and 
clock  making),  in  art  (as  applied  to  embroidery 
among  other  things),  in  household  management, 
and  so  forth. 

Reference  must,  lastly,  be  made  to  the  careful 
attention  which  is  given  to  school  hygiene.  It  is 
generally  recognised  that,  by  compelling  the  at- 
tendance of  children  at  school,  the  law  places  upon 
itself  the  obligation  of  seeing  that  the  j^oung  do 
not  suffer  in  physique  from  such  attendance. 
Hence  have  arisen  the  periodical  medical  inspec- 
tion of  schools,  the  provision  of  baths  for  the 
scholars,  and  other  agencies  of  a  preventive  char- 
acter by  which  it  is  hoped  not  only  to  act  bene- 
ficially on  the  school-children  themselves,  but  in 
the  long  run  upon  the  health  of  the  whole  people. 
Nor  do  these  measures  exhaust  the  activities  at 
work  in  favour  of  a  healthy  and  happy  childhood. 
The  public  conscience  has  taken  these  things  so 
much  to  heart  that  it  compels  the  schools  to  see 
that  children  do  not  go  with  insufficient  food  or 
clothing,  and  that  when  their  homes  are  distant 
they  may  be  able  to  dine  near  the  school.  The 
vacation  colonies  (referred  to  in  another  place), 
milk  cures  for  weakly  children,  and  other  similar 
agencies  are  outgrowths  of  the  same  spirit,  so 
deeply  rooted  in  the  Swiss  that  the  generation  of 
to-morrow  is  largely  plastic  in  the  hands  of  the 
generation  of  to-day. 


CHAPTER  VI 


PHIIvANTHROPIC   WORK 


THE  Swiss  have  long  had  for  their  motto  the 
words,  "  All  for  one,  and  one  for  all,"  and 
the  sentiment  therein  enshrined  has  certainly- 
been  their  constant  inspiration  in  the  domain  of 
public  and  private  beneficence.  It  has  been  re- 
marked by  a  recent  writer,  M.  Th.  Secretan,  that 
"  Switzerland  has  not  remained  in  the  rear-guard 
of  the  army  of  conquerors  in  the  realm  of  peace, 
who  have  assumed  as  their  task  the  work  of 
breaking  down  the  fortresses  of  ignorance,  de- 
pravity, and  vice,  and  who  have  generously  spent 
both  themselves  and  their  money  in  combating 
the  innumerable  miseries,  both  physical  and 
moral,  from  which  society  suffers."  The  word  is 
a  true  one.  There  is,  perhaps,  something  invidi- 
ous in  saying  that  this  or  the  other  country  is  the 
most  beneficent  or  the  most  philanthropic;  but 
while  carefully  avoiding  such  comparisons,  it  may 
truly  be  said  that,  according  to  its  wealth  and 
population,  Switzerland  certainly  stands  in  the 
front  rank  of  nations  noted  for  their  well-doing  in 
this  respect. 

78 


Philanthropic  Work  79 

There  is  hardly  any  section  of  society  or  any  de- 
partment of  life  that  the  Swiss  have  not  ramified 
with  organisations  of  one  kind  or  another  whose 
aim  is  the  amelioration  of  the  conditions  of  exist- 
ence. Some  of  these  organisations,  like  that  of 
the  Societe  Suisse  d^utiliti  publique^  are  of  ancient 
date;  although  by  far  the  greater  number  owe 
their  origin  to  the  latter  half  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  This  is  explicable  on  the  ground  that 
Switzerland  passed  through  so  many  trials,  politi- 
cal and  other,  during  the  earlier  part  of  the  cent- 
ury, and  was  so  roused  b}^  the  efibrt  which  was 
necessary  to  meet  and  overcome  them,  that  the 
result  was  a  complete  resurgence  of  public  spirit 
and  religious  thought. 

Nothing  could  give  a  better  idea  of  the  practical 
philanthropy  everywhere  at  work  in  Switzerland 
than  a  brief  survey  of  some  of  the  ways  in  which 
this  Society  of  Public  Utility  expends  its  efforts. 
Kvery  canton  has  its  branch  of  the  society  except 
Schwyz  and  Valais.  But  besides  the  cantonal 
sections,  there  are  thirty-one  district  sub-sections, 
of  which  ten  are  in  Aargau,  eleven  in  Zurich,  five 
in  Soleure,  four  in  Berne,  and  one  in  St.  Gall.  It 
may  with  truth  be  said  that  hardly  any  movement 
has  taken  place  in  Switzerland,  whose  object  was 
the  public  good  in  whatever  form,  in  which  this 
society  has  not  had  its  share,  either  in  helping  to 
form  opinion,  or  in  stretching  forth  its  powerful 
helping  hand. 

At  one  time  I  knew  a  poor  little  printer  who, 


8o  Swiss  Life 

by  the  aid  of  his  clever  and  well-educated  wife, 
managed  to  keep  himself  and  his  small  family 
handsomely  on  something  under  forty  francs 
($8.)  a  week,  and  to  devote  his  mite  in  addi- 
tion to  the  funds  of  the  Society  of  Public  Utility, 
of  which  he  was  a  member.  Much  of  the  small 
leisure  that  fell  to  his  lot  was  devoted  to  the 
work  of  this  organisation,  and  greatly  was  I  sur- 
prised from  time  to  time  at  the  multifarious  mat- 
ters with  which  it  occupied  itself,  and  that  in  no 
mere  diletta^ite  spirit,  and  the  manifold  ways  in 
which  it  reached  forth  its  beneficent  hand.  The 
world  over,  there  are  never  wanting  objects  for 
commiseration  and  timely  succour;  but  such 
cases  appear  to  be  more  than  usually  common  in 
Switzerland,  where,  what  with  flood,  avalanches, 
fires  (often  caused  by  lightning),  to  say  nothing  of 
the  common  accidents  of  everyday  life,  there  is  an 
ever-active  call  upon  the  good-will  of  the  willing. 
Fortunately  such  calls  are  not  often  on  the 
scale  of  that  which  resulted  from  the  fire  that  on 
September  17,  1877,  reduced  a  large  part  of  Airolo 
to  ashes.  The  damage  done,  over  and  above  what 
was  covered  by  insurance,  amounted  to  something 
like  1,430,000  francs.  In  order  to  meet  this  need 
the  Society  of  Public  Utility  made  an  appeal  to 
the  public,  and  collected  four  hundred  thousand 
francs.  Still  more  recently  (1887)  the  same  so- 
ciety raised  a  sum  of  over  seven  hundred  thousand 
francs  in  aid  of  the  victims  of  a  sinking  of  the 
ground  in  the  canton  of  Zug,  and,  in  1891,  on  the 


Philanthropic  Work  8i 

occasion  of  destructive  fires  at  Meiringen,  Reb- 
stein,  Ladir,  and  Slamischot,  the  sum  of  one 
hundred  and  eighty-five  thousand  francs  was  col- 
lected. And  here  it  may  be  noted  that,  in  view  of 
the  frequency  of  such  catastrophes,  arising  from 
the  untamable  forces  of  nature,  several  cantons, 
among  them  being  Berne,  St.  Gall,  Thurgau,  and 
the  Grisons,  have  established  special  funds  for  the 
benefit  of  those  who  suffer  from  disasters  of  the 
kind,  and  everj^  year  a  special  collection  is  made 
for  the  replenishment  of  the  treasury.  In  the 
Grisons  this  collection  takes  place  on  the  national 
fast  day.  In  St.  Gall,  where  in  1897  the  fund  for 
the  purpose  indicated  amounted  to  three  hundred 
and  ninety-five  thousand  francs,  the  annual  col- 
lection averages  fifteen  thousand  francs. 

It  will  give  a  better  idea  of  the  philanthropic 
activity  displayed  by  the  Society  of  Public  Utility, 
as  well  as  by  the  Swiss  in  general,  if  I  summarise 
the  work  done  by  one  branch  of  the  society,  that 
of  Basel,  in  1898.  Among  other  things,  it  con- 
ducted the  ''  foundation  Riggenbach,"  on  behalf 
of  the  families  of  persons  suffering  imprison- 
ment ;  extended  a  helping  hand  to  four  hundred 
and  eighteen  persons  just  liberated  from  prison  ; 
carried  on  eleven  district  libraries  with  fifteen 
hundred  annual  readers;  an  address-office  for  out- 
of-work  clerks,  thus  furnishing  employment  to 
two  hundred  and  twenty-one  persons;  a  guardian 
school  for  boys,  the  aim  of  which  is  to  take  boys 
from  the  streets  in  bad  weather;  a  bureau  for  the 


82  Swiss  Life 

loan  of  sewing  and  knitting  machines  to  women 
who  work  at  home;  an  orphanage  containing  one 
hundred  and  thirty-one  children ;  and  an  asylum 
for  homeless  young  girls  with  ten  inmates.  In 
addition  to  these  various  agencies,  the  same  or- 
ganisation directed  popular  restaurants  in  six 
quarters  of  the  city;  worked  a  caisse  d' assurance 
against  death  or  old  age,  and  a  depot  for  the  loan 
of  special  furniture  and  utensils  for  the  sick  and 
decrepid,  fifteen  hundred  articles  being  lent  in  the 
course  of  the  year;  and  conducted  a  course  of 
gratuitous  lessons  in  cookery  for  young  women, 
of  which  one  hundred  and  fourteen  persons  took 
advantage.  Nor  does  this  list  of  good  works  ex- 
haust the  activity  of  this  merely  cantonal  section 
of  a  widely  ramified  society;  for,  not  to  speak  of 
other  agencies,  it  aided  in  apprenticing  twenty- 
three  boys,  by  finding  a  premium  when  that  was 
required,  and  by  otherwise  providing  the  money 
to  give  the  lads  a  start;  and,  lastly,  distributed 
eleven  thousand,  two  hundred  and  thirteen 
metres  of  material  amongst  three  thousand  and 
twenty-four  girls  for  school-work.  And  yet,  re- 
markable as  this  catalogue  of  work  is,  it  cannot 
be  called  exceptional ;  other  cantonal  branches  of 
the  same  society  could  show  an  activity  as  great 
and  varied.  So  strong,  indeed,  is  the  faith  of  the 
Swiss  in  the  "  gospel  of  work,"  and  so  many  are 
the  agencies  to  fit  persons  for  it,  and  even  to  find 
it  for  them,  that  no  one  need  go  idle  a  single  day. 
Quite  as  important,  if  not  altogether  so  hopeful, 


A  BASEL  WOMAN  AT  WORK 


Philanthropic  Work  S3 

are  the  almost  numberless  organisations  spread 
throughout  the  cantons  for  the  lifting-up  of  those 
who  have  fallen,  and  for  the  helping  of  those  who, 
having  perhaps  lapsed  into  wrong-doing  through 
thoughtlessness,  would  fain  get  into  the  right 
path  again.  Many  of  these  agencies  take  the 
shape  of  societies  for  the  assistance  of  released 
prisoners,  and  the  fact  that  such  organisations 
multiply  rather  than  decrease  in  number  shows 
that  they  are  not  without  encouraging  results. 
Useful  auxiliaries  to  these  institutions  are  the 
**  lyabour  Colonies  "  established  in  different  parts 
of  the  country.  These  are  of  more  recent  date, 
one  of  the  first,  I  believe,  that  of  the  Tannenhof, 
near  Gampelen,  in  the  Bernese  Seeland,  having 
been  founded  in  1889. 

One  of  the  most  striking  features  of  Swiss  be- 
neficence is  the  thought  and  care  which  it  has 
always  devoted  to  the  young.  Its  principle  of 
action  seems  to  be,  "  Start  the  plant  right,  and  it 
will  grow  strong."  Cantonal  governments  vie 
with  private  charity  in  their  generous  efforts  on 
behalf  of  the  young.  Rural  asylums  and  country 
colonies,  together  with  societies  of  every  descrip- 
tion for  the  protection  of  children,  multiply  them- 
selves on  every  hand,  and  have  already — it  is  no 
exaggeration  to  say — saved  hundreds  and  thou- 
sands of  children  from  moral  and  physical  ruin. 
It  would  be  impossible  to  refer  to  a  tithe  of  these 
various  agencies;  but  I  may  mention,  among 
others,  the  agricultural  and  industrial  colony  of 


§4  Swiss  Life 

Serix  in  the  canton  of  Vaud,  founded  in  1863; 
the  colony  of  Sonnenberg,  near  Lucerne,  estab- 
lished in  1859  by  the  Society  of  Public  Utility, 
above  referred  to;  the  Solidarite,  a  Vaudois  so- 
ciety for  the  protection  of  unfortunate  children; 
and  the  Geneva  committee  for  the  care  of  aban- 
doned children,  dating  from  1892,  of  which  the 
leading  spirit,  until  his  death  a  year  or  two  ago, 
was  Alexandre  Gavard.  Another  agency  with 
the  same  end  in  view,  though  exceptional  in  its 
method,  was  that  carried  on  by  Mile,  de  Lerber, 
who,  convinced  that  a  complete  change  of  scene 
and  of  habits  is  one  of  the  most  efficacious  means 
of  exercising  a  beneficent  influence  over  children 
who  have  fallen  into  vicious  habits  through  the 
neglect  of  their  education,  sent  every  year  a  cer- 
tain number  of  young  girls  for  a  shorter  or  longer 
stay  in  Canada,  whither  she,  on  two  occasions, 
made  a  journey  to  see  how  her  young  protigies 
were  getting  on.  So  I  might  mention  the  Bernese 
establishments  of  the  Gotthelf  society,  the  first  of 
which  was  opened  twenty  years  ago  ;  the  Zurich 
society  for  the  succour  of  abandoned  children, 
dating  from  1865;  and  the  asylum  for  children 
at  Mendrisio,  in  the  canton  of  Tessin,  to  which  a 
noble  Tessinese,  Giovanni  Bernasconi,  recently 
left  a  large  part  of  his  fortune. 

Besides  creches  innumerable  in  the  larger  towns, 
and  Cuisines  scolaires,  founded  so  that  school  child- 
ren who  have  to  go  long  distances  from  home 
may  have  good  warm  dinners  in  the  cold  and  wet 


Philanthropic  Work  85 

season,  the  philanthropy  which  focusses  itself 
chiefl}^  upon  the  young  has  also  thought  of  the 
children  who,  cooped  up  in  the  narrow  streets  of 
towns  and  cities,  would  seldom  get  a  breath  of 
the  pure  air  of  the  country  or  of  the  mountains 
were  it  not  for  the  * '  vacation  colonies  ' '  which 
have  been  provided  for  that  purpose.  Pastor 
Bion,  of  Zurich,  was  the  original  promoter  of 
these  holiday  colonies,  which  are  now  to  be  found 
in  most  parts  of  Switzerland. 

The  Genevese,  always  a  little  in  advance,  have 
pushed  their  solicitude  for  the  welfare  of  the 
young  even  beyond  the  vacation  colonies  amid 
the  hills  and  among  the  lakes  of  the  home  land, 
and  have  a  committee  at  work  which  every  year 
sends  a  number  of  children  and  young  people  suf- 
fering from  scrofula  and  other  similar  complaints 
to  Cettes,  Cannes,  and  Sestri-Levante  (Liguria) 
for  the  benefit  of  the  sea-air  and  the  bathing.  A 
journey  from  Switzerland  to  the  seaside  is  no  light 
matter,  nor  an  inexpensive  one  ;  but  these  fel- 
low-citizens of  Calvin,  Rousseau,  and  others  like 
them  do  not  stop  at  trifles  when  it  is  a  question 
of  helping  the  young  and  the  poor,  especially  if 
they  be  in  any  way  ailing. 

I  do  not  know  whether  Switzerland  produces, 
in  proportion  to  its  population,  a  larger  number 
of  deaf-mutes,  blind,  idiots,  or  children  suffering 
from  epilepsj^,  than  other  countries.  It  certainly 
has  its  share,  and  they  constitute  a  by  no  means 
light  burden  for  those  who  are  blessed  with  the 


86  Swiss  Life 

altruistic  spirit.  Fortunately  there  is  no  lack  of 
that  spirit  in  this  land  of  democracy,  and  so  for 
the  care  of  those  who  come  into  the  world  de- 
ficient in  respect  to  sight,  hearing,  or  intelligence, 
there  are  throughout  the  Confederation  no  fewer 
than  thirty-one  institutions,  most  of  them  sup- 
ported by  public  or  private  beneficence.  One  of 
these  establishments,  that  of  Zurich,  is  for  the 
blind  as  well  as  for  the  deaf  and  dumb.  Two 
others,  one  at  Konitz,  near  Berne,  and  the  other 
at  Lausanne,  receive  only  the  blind.  The  latter, 
among  other  things,  makes  a  feature  of  teaching 
its  inmates  basket  and  wicker-chair  making,  etc. 
It  was  founded  by  the  philanthropist  Haldimand, 
and  dates  from  1844. 

Fifteen  of  these  institutions  are  for  deaf-mutes, 
and  are  distributed  through  the  cantons  of  Aar- 
gau,  Basel,  Berne,  Freiburg,  Geneva,  the  Ori- 
sons, Lucerne,  St.  Oall,  Tessin,  Vaud,  Valais,  and 
Zurich.  Thirteen  establishments  are  devoted  to 
the  care  and  education  of  children  intellectually 
deficient.  Two  of  these — one  at  Ragensberg, 
Zurich  (founded  in  1863),  and  the  other  at  Wein- 
felden,  in  Thurgau  (dating  from  1895) — were  es- 
tablished by  that  Society  of  Public  Utility  which 
puts  its  hand  to  so  many  good  works.  The  same 
society  is  about  to  found  an  asylum  for  idiot 
children  at  Kienberg,  in  Basel-land,  to  which 
the  State  has  promised  an  annual  subsidy  of  four 
thousand  francs,  and  a  committee  has  been  formed 
in  the  Orisons  with  a  view  to  establishing  a  can- 


Philanthropic  Work  87 

tonal  institution  for  children  of  weak  intellect. 
As  regards  the  epileptic,  Switzerland  already 
possesses  a  model  establishment  at  Zurich,  which 
was  opened  in  1886,  and  has  accommodation  for 
one  hundred  and  forty  patients. 

It  has  been  said  that  every  Schwitzer  is  born 
with  the  idea  of  a  new  society  in  his  head.  That 
is,  of  course,  the  ironical  way  of  expressing  what 
comes  very  near  being  a  truth.  For  what  is  the 
central  thought  and  principle  of  Swiss  life  but 
that  of  a  society  for  mutual  aid  and  well-being  ? 
This  idea  is  so  vital  and  fundamental,  and  every 
Swiss  who  can  think  and  perceive  is  so  well  aware 
of  the  force  that  lies  in  his  individual  will,  which 
is  a  live  and  potent  factor  in  the  State,  that  one 
cannot  wonder  at  his  falling  into  the  habit  of 
wanting  to  turn  the  dynamical  quantity  of  his  be- 
ing to  the  best  advantage.  There  may  be  some- 
thing in  this  to  laugh  at,  as  there  is  in  everything 
when  pushed  to  an  extreme;  nevertheless,  this 
same  quality  has  been  the  incentive  to  many  an 
effort  that  has  resulted  in  movements  and  organi- 
sations, like  that  of  the  Red  Cross,  that  have  been 
of  incalculable  importance. 

The  Red  Cross  Society  itself,  world-wide  in  the 
reach  of  its  beneficence,  owes  its  inception  to  the 
Society  of  Public  Utility,  the  kindly  parent  of  so 
many  good  works.  The  first  to  conceive  the  idea 
appears  to  have  been  M.  Dunant,  a  Genevese 
physician,  who  published  a  startling  account  of 
what  he  had  witnessed  in  two  military  hospitals 


88  Swiss  Life 

on  the  field  of  Solferino,  and,  together  with  his 
friend  M.  Moynier,  president  of  the  local  Society 
of  Public  Utility,  started  an  agitation,  which 
spread  rapidly  over  Europe,  in  favour  of  what 
they  termed  "  neutralising  the  sick- waggons  "  on 
the  field  of  battle.  The  idea  was  taken  up  so  en- 
thusiastically, and  was  pressed  with  such  earnest- 
ness upon  the  various  governments  of  Europe  that 
eventually,  with  the  full  concurrence  of  the 
Powers,  a  conference  was  summoned  at  the  in- 
stance of  the  Swiss  Federal  Council.  It  met,  very 
fittingly,  at  Geneva  in  August,  1864,  and  the  Con- 
vention of  Geneva  was  drawn  up  and  signed  as  an 
international  code  on  the  22d  of  that  month. 
Everyone  knows  the  aim  and  scope  of  the  Con- 
vention, and  what  a  noble  work  it  set  on  foot. 
The  international  association  known  as  the  Red 
Cross  Society  was  established  as  a  corollary  to 
the  Geneva  Convention.  Several  conferences  in 
connection  with  it  have  since  been  held,  but  ex- 
cept in  certain  matters  of  detail  this  code  for  in 
some  measure  humanising  warfare  remains  as 
originally  agreed  to  by  the  leading  Powers. 

An  equally  useful  organisation,  though  on  a 
lowlier  plane,  is  that  of  the  association  known  as 
Les  Amies  de  la  jeune  fille^  founded  some  thirty 
years  ago,  and  now  having  its  branches  all  over 
the  world.  The  intention  of  this  society  is  to  ex- 
tend protecting  care  to  girls  and  young  women 
who  have  to  go  away  from  home,  and  who,  in  ar- 
riving in  strange  places,  need  a  friendly  hand  to 


Philanthropic  Work  89 

guide  and  welcome  them.  So  well  has  the  idea 
beeu  carried  out  that  the  association  has  agents 
and  correspondents  everywhere;  one  of  its  prote- 
gees going  to  Borneo,  China,  or  Japan  would 
travel,  as  it  were,  under  the  aegis  of  these  Amies 
de  lajeu7iefille,  and  find  their  welcome  at  the  end 
of  the  journey.  This  organisation,  which  is  un- 
der Protestant  auspices,  has  had  a  friendly  emu- 
lator since  1897  i^  ^^^  OEuvre  Catholique  de 
protection  de  la  jeiine  fille,  an  association  based 
wholly  on  the  lines  of  the  elder  society. 

Next  to  infancy  and  youth,  old  age  lays  claim 
to  the  attention  of  Swiss  philanthropy.  Nor  does 
it  ask  in  vain,  as  is  proved  by  the  long  list  of 
charitable  institutions  specially  reserved  for  the 
aged  which  are  to  be  found  in  every  canton  of 
the  Confederation.  The  canton  of  Basel  alone 
possesses  six  asylums  for  the  aged,  infirm,  and 
incurable,  besides  a  general  fund  for  widows  and 
orphans,  which  is  one  of  the  oldest  philanthropic 
organisations  in  Switzerland.  The  canton  of 
Geneva,  never  behind  in  these  matters,  has  two 
such  institutions  for  the  aged,  one  at  Anieres, 
with  one  hundred  and  fifty  pensioners  averaging 
seventy  years  of  age,  and  another,  supported  by 
the  State,  at  Petit-Saconnex.  The  rules  of  the 
latter  contain  a  clause  which  is  probably  unique 
in  such  institutions;  at  least,  I  have  never  heard 
of  anything  of  the  kind  elsewhere.  It  is  that  the 
pensioners  themselves  appoint  one  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  committee  of  administration. 


90  Swiss  Life 

The  canton  of  Vaud  is  equally  thoughtful  of  its 
aged  poor,  but  it  manages  matters  in  a  different 
way.  The  Government  supports  an  organisation 
for  the  care  of  those  of  its  old  people  who  are  in- 
firm, or  suffering  from  incurable  disease,  and 
there  is,  besides,  a  "society  for  the  succour  of 
poor  persons  hopelessly  afflicted,"  with  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  persons  always  on  its  books. 
But  both  these  organisations,  instead  of  maintain- 
ing special  establishments,  place  their  patients 
out  in  private  families.  There  is,  however,  at 
Chailly,  near  I^ausanne,  an  asylum  of  the  general 
type  for  old  people  of  both  sexes,  pauvre  et  mal- 
heureux.  It  is  needless  to  mention  other  institu- 
tions of  the  kind;  they  abound  in  all  the  cantons, 
to  the  number,  in  all,  of  eighty-one,  some  private, 
others  State-supported,  some  connected  with  re- 
ligious organisations,  others  not. 

This  consideration  of  the  work  which  is  being 
done  in  Switzerland  in  the  domain  of  philan- 
thropy would  be  incomplete  without  some  refer- 
ence to  a  class  of  institutions  of  which  during  the 
last  few  years  we  have  heard  a  good  deal  in  Eng- 
land, thanks  mainly  to  the  enlightened  initiative 
of  the  King,  who,  becoming  acquainted  with  the 
useful  work  such  establishments  were  doing  in 
Germany,  called  the  attention  of  some  of  our 
leading  physicians  to  them.  I  refer  to  the  sana- 
toria conducted  specially  for  the  benefit  of  persons 
suffering  from  tuberculosis.  For  patients  to  de- 
rive the  greatest  possible  benefit  from  them  it  is 


Philanthropic  Work  91 

necessary  that  these  institutions  should  be  built 
in  situations  where  the  air  is  of  the  purest,  and 
also  of  the  dryest,  and  where  it  is  made  delightful 
by  the  plenteous  beams  of  the  sun.  The  poor, 
unaided,  cannot  afford  to  go  to  such  places,  and 
so  philanthropy  in  Switzerland  has  stepped  in 
and  opened  a  number  of  sanatoria,  intended 
specially  for  those  whom  Providence  has  confided 
to  its  care  and  charge. 

The  sanatorium  at  Heiligenschwendli,  in  the 
canton  of  Berne,  is  said  to  be  the  first  establish- 
ment of  its  kind  on  the  Continent  of  Europe.  It 
was  originally  thought  that  these  places  must  be 
all  the  better  for  their  purpose  the  higher  they 
were  put,  and  so  that  of  Heiligenschwendli  ap- 
pears at  a  height  of  1140  metres  above  the  sea. 
There  are  several  higher  still,  including  one  at 
Leysin  (canton  of  Vaud),  at  a  height  of  1450 
metres,  one  at  Davos  (1160  metres),  and  a  third  at 
Braunwald  in  the  canton  of  Glarus  at  an  altitude 
of  1 1 80  metres.  Zurich  also  supports  a  sanato- 
rium at  Wald,  and  Neuchatel  one  at  Malvilliers. 
The  latter  is  due  to  the  generous  initiative  of  M. 
Russ-Suchard.  Following  the  example  of  the 
canton  of  Vaud,  Thurgau  recently  decided  to 
celebrate  the  centenary  of  its  independence  by  a 
collection  in  aid  of  a  sanatorium  for  the  poor, 
while  a  Genevan  committee  has  acquired,  for  the 
same  purpose,  an  extensive  site  at  Clairmont-sur- 
Sierre,  in  the  Valaisan  commune  of  Randogne. 

A  Swiss  writer,  in  a  recent  article,  says:  "  The 


92 


Swiss  Life 


strength  of  a  religion  is  not  shown  in  being 
politic,  in  being  scientific,  or  even  in  being  philan- 
thropic." Such  may  be  the  case;  yet  the  truly 
religious  will  probably  always  regard  philan- 
thropy as  one  of  the  fairest  fruits  of  religion.  At 
any  rate,  it  is  a  very  practical  outcome  of  the  re- 
ligion of  the  Swiss. 


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CHAPTER  VII 

NATIONAL   INDUSTRY 

SWITZERLAND  throughout  is  a  perfect  hive 
of  industry.  Practically  speaking,  every- 
body works.  There  is  no  idle  class,  or  if  there 
be,  it  is  of  very  small  dimensions.  Most  of  the 
older  cities  are  the  homes  of  a  high-stepping  and 
well-to-do  aristocracy,  as  well  as  of  a  roll  of  bur- 
gesses proud  of  their  antique  franchise  or  of 
newly  acquired  rights,  which  they  well  know 
how  to  defend  inguibus  et  rostro  against  any  and 
all  encroachments  of  power.  But  though  the  aris- 
tocrat lives  in  his  narrow  circle,  and  often  suffers 
from  a  limited  range  of  intellectual  views,  he  is 
not,  or  rarely,  an  idle  burner  of  the  oil  of  life. 
Such  is  the  stir  and  activity  of  thought  and  being 
in  the  little  Republic  that  all  are  drawn  into  it,  as 
into  the  Dance  whereof  Holbein,  or  another,  has 
left  us  his  parable,  still  to  be  seen,  at  least  in  part, 
in  the  Mediaeval  Museum  at  Basel.  Aristocrat 
and  burgher  alike,  equally  with  the  artisan,  are 
swept  into  the  general  current,  and  do  their  turn 
in  the  common  mill. 

The  aristocracy  of  the  French-speaking  cantons 

93 


94  Swiss  Life 

are  especially  public-spirited.  They  do  not 
tie  themselves  up  in  a  clique,  as  in  most  other 
countries,  but,  on  the  contrary,  throw  themselves 
with  much  spirit  into  public  business.  Indeed,  it 
may  be  said  with  truth  that  they  have,  as  a  rule, 
shown  themselves  much  more  beneficent  and  ac- 
tive in  well-doing  than  proud  and  egoistic.  Con- 
servative by  nature  and  training,  they  have  been 
among  the  stoutest  guardians,  not  merely  of  old- 
time  privileges  and  customs,  but  of  the  worthiest 
traditions  of  generosity  and  honour.  Accustomed 
to  the  management  of  affairs,  they  have  filled,  in 
general  with  probity  and  devotion,  the  highest 
ofiQces  of  the  State.  Nor  have  they,  as  a  rule, 
despite  some  narrowness  and  many  prejudices, 
forfeited  the  respect  of  other  classes. 

As  regards  the  privileges  and  prejudices  of 
birth  and  station,  perhaps  the  aristocracy  of  the 
older  cantons  will  bear  the  palm,  but  they  are 
no  less  public-spirited  than  their  compatriots  of 
the  Wulsck  cantons,  and  they  have  furnished  as 
many  illustrious  men  to  the  public  service,  if  not 
to  the  sciences  and  arts,  as  those  living  nearer  the 
current  of  French  life.  The  same,  or  even  more, 
may  be  said  of  the  burgess  class.  Originally  as 
exclusive,  and  well-nigh  as  haughty,  as  the 
man  who  styled  himself  "  noble,"  the  burgher 
earlier  ranged  himself  in  line  with  the  com- 
mon life,  pushed  thereto  by  the  force  of  circum- 
stances, and  broadening  his  intelligence  with  his 
horizon,  was  thus  enabled  to  play  a  part  second 


National  Industry  95 

to  none  in  the  progress  and  development  of  the 
country. 

Not  only  in  manufacture  and  commerce,  but  in 
every  department  of  national  activity,  the  sons  of 
the  bourgeoisie  enlist  their  intelligence  and  energy, 
and,  it  may  be  added,  leave  their  familiar  mark. 
For,  if  carried  on  in  a  right  spirit,  and  with  that 
devotion  to  high  principle  which  is  the  aim  of  all 
honest  workers,  there  is  no  training-school  in  the 
world  better  than  that  of  business,  not  only  for 
the  conduct  of  affairs  generally,  but  for  states- 
manship and  politics.  Such,  at  all  events,  is  the 
lesson  of  Swiss  annals,  some  of  the  best,  if  not  the 
major  part  of  the  statesmen,  reformers,  adminis- 
trators, industrial  leaders,  and  inventors,  as  well 
as  the  theologians,  scientists,  and  inventors,  who 
have  stamped  their  impress  on  the  country's  his- 
tory, having  sprung  from  that  class. 

Under  their  direction  Swiss  industry  may  be 
said  to  have  taken  its  place  with  the  foremost  in 
the  world,  considered,  that  is,  from  the  standpoint 
of  population  and  opportunity.  For  it  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  Switzerland  is  one  of  the  poor- 
est countries  in  Europe  as  regards  natural  re- 
sources. Yet  the  Swiss  are  among  the  "  best-ofF," 
materially  and  socially, of  perhaps  any  Continental 
people.  They  are  divided  by  no  glaring  inequali- 
ties of  wealth.  The  rich  are  not  very  rich,  nor 
are  the  poor  very  poor;  the  pauper  being,  in  fact, 
almost  as  rare  as  the  millionaire.  The  thriftless 
and   imbecile   do,    unfortunately,   exist,    and    it 


g6  Swiss  Life 

cannot  be  said  that  Switzerland  has  not  its  problem 
of  poverty;  but  it  is  a  very  different  thing  there 
from  what  it  is  in  other  countries.  There  is  work 
for  all  who  will  work,  and  fair  pay.  But  labour 
is  organised  as  in  few  other  countries.  It  is  also 
protected,  for  the  workman,  having  his  hand  on 
the  political  machine,  knows  how  to  exercise  his 
power  for  his  own  and  the  common  advantage; 
what  is  good  for  the  bee,  as  the  emperor-philoso- 
pher puts  it,  being  also,  as  he  sees,  good  for  the 
swarm. 

The  result  is  that,  though  there  are  some  small 
class  distinctions,  they  militate  but  little  against 
a  very  marked  general  equality.  The  only  social 
barriers  of  any  account  are  those  of  culture  and 
refinement,  and  they,  of  course,  will  always  exist, 
however  democratic  a  society  may  be.  But  the 
lines  are  never  sharply  drawn,  and  class  merges 
into  class  with  almost  imperceptible  gradations. 
The  condition  of  things  one  meets  with  in  this  re- 
spect almost  throughout  Switzerland  is  very 
closely  akin  to  what  exists  in  the  Western  High- 
lands, where  the  poor  and  the  well-to-do  are  on 
close  terms  of  intimacy,  the  newly  rich  and  the 
purse-proud  being  the  only  exceptions.  I  am 
speaking  here  more  particularly  of  the  towns,  in 
which  a  very  fair  level  of  intelligence  and  culture 
prevails,  arising  in  part  from  the  educational  ad- 
vantages common  to  all,  and  in  part  from  the 
softening  of  the  manners  and  the  sharpening  of 
the  wits  produced  by  the  industrial  arts. 


National  Industry  97 

This  is  particularly  the  case  in  Geneva,  which 
may  be  said  to  lead  the  industry  of  la  Suisse  ro- 
mande.  Geneva's  specialty  lies  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  musical -boxes,  jewellery,  and  watches, 
with  which  must  be  included  timepieces.  For 
some  two  hundred  years,  or  more,  the  ancient  city 
has  been  engaged  in  the  making  of  watches,  and 
though  its  business  has  of  late  years  been  consid- 
erablj^  injured  by  American  and  English  compe- 
tition, it  still  does  a  considerable  trade  in  that 
department,  employing  a  large  number  of  men. 
In  Geneva  the  art  of  the  jeweller  is  closely  allied 
with  that  of  the  watchmaker,  the  Geneva  watch, 
par  excellence,  being  a  highly  finished  and  ex- 
quisitely decorated  piece  of  workmanship,  a  jewel 
first,  as  one  might  say,  and  a  timekeeper  after- 
wards. It  is  an  education  in  art  to  spend  half  a 
day  in  the  streets  of  Geneva,  studying  the  beau- 
tiful things,  the  manufacture  of  the  city,  that  are 
displayed  in  the  windows  of  its  shops.  Only  after 
doing  so,  and  perhaps  visiting  one  of  its  many 
workshops,  is  one  in  a  position  to  understand  the 
superior  quality  of  artisan  everywhere  to  be  met 
with  in  this  city  built  on  the  "Rock  of  Predestina- 
tion," as  Michelet  wittily  puts  it.  Not  all  its 
workmen,  however,  are  employed  in  the  shops, 
many  of  the  best  working  in  their  own  homes, 
and  showing  fine  traits  of  independence. 

But  even  more  important  than  Geneva  in  con- 
nection with  the  watch-making  industry  is  the 
canton  of  Neuchatel.     Established   in   the  first 


gS  Swiss  Life 

instance  at  Locle,  in  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  by  Daniel  Jean  Richard,  a  man  of  rare 
mechanical  genius,  the  new  industry  soon  spread 
to  the  neighbouring  village  of  Chaux-de-Fonds, 
and  thence  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  to  many  a 
poverty-stricken  mountain  village,  not  only  in 
Neuchatel,  but  in  the  neighbouring  cantons  of 
Soleure  and  Berne.  If  you  want  to  see  how 
watches  are  made,  and  under  what,  on  the  whole, 
happy  circumstances  they  are  produced,  go  to  one 
or  both  of  these  notable  towns,  the  larger,  Chaux- 
de-Fonds,  being  perhaps  the  most  elevated  manu- 
facturing centre  in  the  world,  standing,  as  it 
does,  at  an  altitude  of  3274  feet  above  the  sea.  It 
has  a  population  of  twenty-seven  thousand,  a 
large  proportion  of  them  engaged  in  the  staple 
manufacture.  As  at  Locle,  with  about  half  the 
population  of  Chaux-de-Fonds,  the  watch-  and 
clock-making  industry  is  carried  on  very  largely 
in  the  homes  of  the  workers,  although  not  to  the 
same  extent  as  formerl}-.  The  work  is  very  much 
subdivided,  each  man  usually  confining  his  at- 
tention to  one  piece  of  the  machinery.  Those 
who  prepare  the  simpler  parts  will  earn  from  two 
and  a  half  francs  a  day  upwards,  while  those  who 
do  the  adjusting,  finishing,  and  engraving,  etc., 
make  as  much  as  ten  francs  a  day.  The  work-  ) 
men  are  usually  well-to-do,  living  in  neat  little  I 
houses,  set  in  the  midst  of  gardens  of  from  half 
an  acre  to  an  acre  in  extent.  There  is  nothing  of  J 
the  slovenly,  slouchy  look  so  often  characteristic 


\J^^' 


National  Industry  99 


01  provincial  artisans  about  these  men.  They 
are  bright,  alert,  intelligent,  and  bring  out  their 
French  not  only  correctly,  but  with  something 
of  Parisian  refinement  and  polish.  One  sees  in 
these  blue-bloused  workmen  what  education  and 
proper  conditions  of  living  can  do  to  refine  and 
elevate  even  the  lowly  sons  of  toil.  I  am  told 
that  the  annual  output  of  watches,  the  manufac- 
ture of  Chaux-de-Fonds,  Locle,  and  the  neigh- 
bouring villages,  amounts  to  something  like  three  , 
hundred  thousand,  having  a  value  of  thirty-six- 
million  francs. 

To  mau}^  of  the  villages  in  the  Bernese  Ober- 
land  and  the  Soleure  Jura,  watch-  and  clock-mak- 
ing has  proved  a  by-industry  of  the  utmost 
importance,  lifting  the  inhabitants,  in  many  in- 
stances, if  not  to  affluence,  at  least  out  of  the 
depths  of  poverty.  The  pursuit  of  husbandry, 
yielding  a  precarious  return  at  best  in  those 
mountainous  parts,  leaves  many  hours  that  would 
be  otherwise  unoccupied  but  for  this  and  other 
kindred  employments  for  the  long  nights.  It  is 
in  this  respect  in  particular  that  the  vSwiss  have 
shown  themselves  so  wise  and  so  thrifty.  In 
nearly  every  part  of  the  country,  in  the  houses  of 
the  peasants  and  workers,  we  see  some  by-indus- 
try going  on.  Here  it  is  musical-boxes  or  watch- 
making, there  wood-carving,  or  what  not. 

Many  years  ago  Christian  Fisher  established  a 
school  of  wood-carving  at  Brienz,  and  such  was 
the  good  fruit  it  bore  that,  not  only  here,  but  at 


loo  Swiss  Life 

near-lying  Meiringen,  and  in  many  remote  moun- 
tain villages,  especially  in  the  Haslithal,  the  in- 
dustry took  root  and  freed  the  people  from  the 
pressure  of  a  stinted  and  precarious  livelihood. 
Toys,  caskets,  flowers,  animals,  forks  and  spoons, 
book-slides,  chairs  and  tables,  parqueterie,  and, 
indeed,  wood-carving  of  every  description,  come 
in  rich  abundance  from  the  hands  of  these  peasant 
artists  and  find  a  ready  sale.  A  few  years  ago 
some  twenty- five  thousand  persons  were  said  to 
be  engaged  in  this  industry,  and  since  then  the 
number  has  probably  largely  increased.  Recently 
the  Bernese  Oberland  has  added  another  branch 
of  art- work  to  those  it  had  before  prosecuted, 
namely,  the  production  of  polished  and  inlaid 
slabs  for  table-tops,  etc.,  from  the  indigenous  red 
stone  and  marbles  of  the  country. 

What  watch-  and  clock-making  are  to  West 
Switzerland,  the  silk  and  cotton  industries  are  to 
the  eastern  cantons.  The  silk  manufacture  was 
first  established  in  Zurich  by  Huguenot  refugees 
in  the  seventeenth  century,  and  from  thence  it 
quickly  spread  into  the  surrounding  villages. 
The  industry  is  not  now  what  it  was  in  former 
days;  but  it  still  occupies  many  thousands  of 
hands  in  the  city,  and  on  both  sides  of  the  lake, 
as  well  as  in  the  Zurich  Oberland,  especially  in 
the  villages  surrounding  or  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  small  Pfaffikon  See.  Into  the  latter  emp- 
ties a  powerful  little  stream,  known  as  the  Aa, 
which  in  the  course  of  a  league's  run  drives  so 


»    '  »    ,   '  .  »  ' 


National  Industiy  loi 

many  silk  and  other  mills  that,  by  way  of  jest,  it 
is  styled  the  Millioneiibach^  or,  as  we  might  say, 
the  *'  millionaire  stream." 

But  though  large  numbers  work  in  the  mills  in 
this  district,  the  hum  of  the  hand-loom  is  heard 
on  every  side  in  the  cottages.  Here,  too,  as  a 
feature  of  Swiss  industry,  it  may  be  noted  that, 
hand  in  hand  with  the  silk  and  other  industries, 
is  carried  on  an  active  trade  in  milk  and  its  pro- 
ducts; those  who  have  a  little  land,  and  most 
workers  have,  finding  no  difiiculty  in  following 
the  two  occupations  together.  Nothing  is  so  re- 
markable in  Switzerland  as  the  universality  of 
gardens  amongst  working  men  in  most  of  the 
towns  and  villages  and  the  admirable  use  they 
make  of  them.  And  in  the  district  of  which  I  am 
now  speaking — that  is,  the  Zurich  Oberland — the 
gardens  of  the  working  people,  especially  those 
of  Wald,  Riiti,  and  Wetzikon,  are  celebrated  as 
among  the  neatest  and  best -cultivated  to  be  found 
anywhere. 

The  ground  silk  has  lost,  here  and  elsewhere  in 
Switzerland,  cotton  has  gained;  but  while  Zurich 
is  an  important  centre  of  this  industry,  and  pos- 
sesses many  cotton  factories,  it  is  surpassed  in  the 
number  of  hands  engaged  in  the  work  by  other 
districts.  Near-lying  Glarus  has  extensive  manu- 
factures of  cotton  and  printed  muslin.  It  used  to 
do  a  large  trade  in  dyed  goods  with  the  East ;  but 
for  many  years  the  Glarner  merchant  and  manu- 
facturer has  had  to  look  to  other  quarters  for  a 


102  Swiss  Life 

market.  However,  he  is  one  of  the  most  pushing 
and  successful  of  Swiss  traders,  and  when  one 
market  fails  it  is  not  long  before  he  finds  another. 
Cotton-spinning  was  introduced  into  this  little 
mountain  canton  early  in  the  eighteenth  century 
by  Heidegger,  one  of  its  village  pastors,  much  to 
the  annoyance  of  Zurich,  which  was  not  so  broad- 
minded  then  as  it  is  now;  and  soon  the  whole 
population  was  spinning  for  the  manufactories  of 
St.  Gall,  Herisau,  Toggenburg,  and  elsewhere. 

The  canton  of  St.  Gall  may  be  said  to  be  the 
headquarters  of  the  Swiss  cotton  industry,  as  well 
as  of  the  allied  one  of  embroidery,  which  occupies 
thousands  of  female  workers  in  this  part  of  Swit- 
zerland. Much  of  the  embroidery  work  is  done 
b}^  machinery,  but  there  is  still  a  very  large  quan- 
tity turned  out  by  hand.  Appenzell  is  specially 
noted  for  its  productiveness  in  this  respect,  its 
women  being  gifted  above  almost  all  others  in 
these  parts  for  their  deftness  and  taste  in  this 
delicate  art.  The  picture  of  the  fields  about  St. 
Gall  and  along  the  Toggenburg  Valley,  white 
with  the  webs  spread  out  to  bleach,  is  not  more 
common  nor  more  surprising  to  the  stranger  than 
that  of  the  Appenzellerin  seated  before  her  em- 
broidery frame  in  the  shade  and  amid  the  flowers 
of  her  garden.  It  may,  indeed,  be  said  of  these 
diligent  workers,  as  it  is  sometimes  said  of  the 
hand-loom  silk-w^eavers  of  the  Zurich  Oberland — 
for  there  are  still  a  multitude  of  such — that  many 
a  fair  maiden,  many  a  j^oung  wife,  works  youth 


National  Industry  103 

and  beauty,  and  often  even  life  itself,  into  the 
rich  material,  the  product  of  her  delicate  fingers. 

Embroidery  is  to  East  Switzerland  very  much 
what  watch-making  is  to  West  Switzerland,  and 
it  employs  probably  an  equal  number  of  the  popu- 
lation. Fifty  thousand  persons  are  said  to  be  so 
engaged,  chiefly  in  St.  Gall,  Appenzell,  and  parts 
of  the  canton  of  Zurich.  How  varied  and  beau- 
tiful the  product  is  only  those  can  know  who 
have  seen  it.  The  output  has  been  steadily  in- 
creasing for  man}^  years,  and  it  finds  a  market  not 
only  all  over  the  Continent,  but  in  both  North 
and  South  America.  As  in  respect  to  other 
branches  of  industry,  so  in  this,  too,  the  Swiss  find 
it  worth  their  while  to  establish  schools  for  in- 
struction, in  order  that  there  may  be  no  falling 
back,  or  fatal  lagging  behind  the  fashion.  There 
is  also  a  museum  of  embroidery  in  St.  Gall,  which 
is  well  worth  seeing.  Apart  from  any  merely  in- 
dustrial value,  it  need  hardly  be  pointed  out  how 
all  this  tends  in  the  direction  of  artistic  culture 
and  general  refinement. 

Even  more  important  than  the  embroidery  in- 
dustry in  East  Switzerland,  so  far  as  the  numbers 
of  employes  is  concerned,  is  that  connected  w4th 
the  manufacture  of  silk  in  its  various  forms.  The 
chief  centres  of  the  trade  are  Basel  and  Zurich, 
but  there  is  also  a  considerable  amount  of  ribbon- 
weaving  done  in  Aarau,  which  is  likewise  the 
centre  of  an  important  straw-plaiting  and  em- 
broidering industry.     Ribbons  are  the  principal 


104  Swiss  Life 

product  of  the  Basel  looms.  There  the  factory 
system  chiefly  prevails,  and  the  factory  type  of 
physique  is  perhaps  more  noticeable  among  its 
population  than  in  almost  any  other  part  of  Swit- 
zerland. In  Zurich,  also,  power-loom  weaving  is 
largely  in  vogue,  and  it  has  been  on  the  increase 
of  late  years;  but  there  are  still,  it  is  said,  be- 
tween twenty  and  thirty  thousand  hand-looms  at 
work,  many  of  them  being  distributed  through 
the  villages  round  the  lake — another  instance  of 
the  prevalence  of  home  industries  among  this 
busy  and  thrifty  people. 

Cotton-weaving  and  printing  employ  between 
twent3^-four  and  twenty-five  thousand  hands,  and 
there  is  some  little  woollen  and  linen  manufacture 
carried  on  in  various  parts.  The  manufacture  of 
w^oolien  goods  is  confined  chiefly  to  the  cantons 
of  Glarus,  Zurich,  Berne,  Soleure,  and  Basel- 
land;  and  flax-spinning  centres  mainly  in  Berne. 
There  is,  however,  a  very  considerable  amount  of 
linen-weaving  still  done — for  home  use — in  the 
Alpine  valleys,  where  the  pleasant  hum  of  the 
spinning-wheel  may  yet  be  heard  in  many  of 
the  mountain  cottages,  and,  as  the  song  says — 

"  The  good  wife's  shuttle  merrily 
Goes  flashing  through  the  loom." 

I  might  refer  to  other  industries — that,  for  in- 
stance, of  shoe-making  in  Soleure,  the  manufac- 
ture of  machinery  in  Winterthur  and  elsewhere, 


National  Industry  105 

the  weaving  and  embroidery  of  muslins  in  Ap- 
penzell-ausser-Rhoden,  the  condensed  milk  in- 
dustry of  Vaud  and  other  parts,  the  manufacture 
of  tobacco  and  cigars  (from  the  native-grown 
plant)  chiefly  in  Vaud  and  Aargau.  The  cultiva- 
tion of  the  fragrant  weed  is  confined  in  the  main 
to  the  valleys  of  the  Rhone,  the  Aar,  the  Broye, 
and  the  Ticino.  It  does  not  amount  to  much  in 
total  bulk,  and  the  tendency  is  to  decrease  rather 
than  the  reverse.  Still,  it  gives  employment  to  a 
goodly  number  of  persons,  especially  in  the  pretty 
villages  of  the  Seethal,  where  the  peasants  have 
become  deft-handed  at  cigar-making  as  well  as  at 
straw-plaiting. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THK  CULTURE  OF  THK  VIN:E 

**  Im  kiihlen  Keller  sitz'  ich  hier 

Auf  einem  Fass  voll  Reben, 
Bin  frohen  Muts  und  lasse  mir 

Vom  Allerbesten  geben. 
Der  Kiifer  zieht  den  Heber  voll, 

Gehorsam  meiner  Winke, 
Reicht  rair  das  Glas,  ich  halt's  empor, 

Und  trinke,  trinke,  trinke." 


THAT  is  a  verse  of  one  of  the  songs  in  praise 
of  the  grape  and  its  juice,  well-known  and 
often  sung  by  the  sons  of  this  land  of  the  vine. 
I  have  spoken  in  the  preceding  chapter  of  many 
branches  of  industry,  but  none  of  them  perhaps 
can  go  back  to  so  ancient  a  date  in  this  country 
as  that  of  the  manufacture  of  wine.  The  cultiva- 
tion of  the  vine  among  the  Swiss — as  amongst 
other  peoples  in  the  countries  native  to  the  vine 
— is  by  many  held  to  be  the  ideal  employment. 
How  many  of  the  toilers  in  town  and  city,  who 
have  perhaps  in  their  early  years  known  some- 
thing of  the  life  and  work  among  the  vines,  sigh 
from  time  to  time  as  they  drag  through  the  hot 

1 06 


The  Culture  of  the  Vine      107 

and  dust}^  streets,  and  hie  them  in  imagination  to 
the  vine-clad  slopes  of  the  Rhine  Valley  of  Grau- 
biinden,  or  the  terraced  shores  of  Lake  Leman, 
where  it  is  their  ambition  to  end  their  days  in  the 
classic  employ ! 

But,  beautiful  and  idyllic  as  is  the  picture  fancy 
paints  for  them,  stern  reality  sooner  or  later  tells 
them  that  the  occupation  of  their  dreams  is  not  all 
that  it  was.  The  last  decade  of  the  century  has 
made  a  sad  change,  brought  about  chiefly  by  the 
ravages  of  the  phylloxera  and  other  insect 
plagues.  Previous  to  their  arrival  upon  the  scene 
the  vine-grower  was  in  a  better  position  to  make 
both  ends  meet  than  he  is  now.  Like  the  man  in 
the  fable,  he  could  say: 

"  A  la  fin 
J'attrape  le  bout  de  rannee  : 
Chaque  jour  ameue  son  pain." 

As  the  times  go  to-day  it  is  not  always  an  easy 
matter  for  the  cultivator  of  the  grape  to  emulate 
the  cheese-mite,  and  make  both  ends  meet  for  a 
fresh  spring.  Bad  seasons,  lack  of  capital,  not 
unfrequently  a  spell  of  sickness,  stand  in  the  way 
of  success.  Then  the  vine-grower  is  apt  to  be  a 
little  behind  the  times.  He  does  not  always  act 
up  to  the  latest  science.  Indeed,  it  is  not  un- 
usual to  find  him  sceptical  about  scientific  novel- 
ties, as  about  new  things  in  general;  for  your 
cultivator  of  the  soil  is,  like  the  nature  he  is  so 
much  in  company  with,  old-fashioned  in  his  ways, 


io8  Swiss  Life 

in  short,  a  great  conservative :  and  the  Swiss  cul- 
tivator is  no  exception  to  the  rule. 

Still,  the  times  change,  and  in  the  more  pro- 
gressive cantons  better  methods  take  the  place  of 
the  old  cut-and-dried  systems  of  viticulture. 
Even  in  somewhat  stick-fast  old  Valais  things 
move.  It  were  sad,  indeed,  if  they  did  not,  see- 
ing that  the  fruit  of  the  vine  forms  the  staple  of 
the  canton's  wealth  and  well-being.  Backward 
as  the  Valais  peasant  is,  and  narrow  as  is  his  out- 
look, he  has  been  wise  enough  of  late  years  to 
reinvigorate  his  old  stocks  by  the  introduction  of 
the  Burgundy,  the  Toka}^,  and  the  Johannesberg 
vines,  with  the  result  that  he  is  now  able,  when 
September  comes  round,  not  only  to  send  into  the 
market  rich  golden  clusters  for  the  table,  but  also 
good  refreshing  wine  that  is  in  no  way  inferior  to 
that  coming  from  the  birth-lands  of  the  grape,  al- 
beit this  cannot  be  said  of  all  his  output. 

The  above-named,  however,  are  not  the  only 
wines  produced  in  Valais.  The  Arvine  and  the 
Amigue,  excellent  white  wines,  are  among  the 
good  old  "stand-bys"  of  the  country,  and 
are  greatly  relished  by  those  who  have  become 
familiar  with  their  tang  and  flavour.  Some  of 
the  commoner  stocks,  grown  in  most  parts  of 
Switzerland,  thrive  also  in  Valais.  But  it  is 
strange  to  note  that,  like  the  people,  the  same 
vine  has  a  tendenc}^  to  vary  in  the  different  can- 
tons; or  if  not  the  vine,  at  least  the  wine  does. 
But  need  one  wonder  when  the  life  of  the  people 


The  Culture  of  the  Vine       109 

is  so  different !  There  is  one  very  peculiar  feature 
that  strikes  the  observant  stranger  in  vagabondis- 
ing about  Valais.  It  reminds  one  a  little  of  har- 
vest-time in  England.  By  reason  of  the  urgent 
needs  of  the  vine  many  of  the  poorer  peasantry 
lead  a  nomadic  life.  In  the  springtime  they 
come  down  from  their  remote  mountain  villages, 
bringing  with  them  cattle,  children,  and  half 
their  household  belongings,  to  make  their  temp- 
orary abode  among  the  vineyards.  Here  they 
work  until  the  beginning  of  summer,  when  they 
return  home,  with  their  cattle  and  their  gear, 
until  the  grapes  are  ready  to  be  plucked.  Then 
the  mountain  road  sees  and  welcomes  them  once 
more.  The  children  toddle  along  with  laugh  and 
shout,  the  cattle  feed  as  they  go,  men  and  women 
bend  under  loads  of  ' '  needful  things ' ' ;  but  the 
way  is  comparatively  light  now,  because  it  is  the 
laughing,  luscious  grapes  that  have  to  be  gath- 
ered. This  changeful  nature  of  the  toil,  accord- 
ing to  season,  has  led  to  a  peculiar  feature  in  some 
of  the  Valais  communes,  there  being  in  each  three 
villages,  all  in  turn  vivid  with  activit}^  and  then 
empty  and  desolate  as  the  winds. 

Much  lighter  is  the  labour  at  the  grape-gather- 
ing than  in  the  spring.  In  the  earlier  season  it 
is  often  dangerous  in  the  extreme,  for  the  vine- 
yards have  frequently  to  be  irrigated  by  means  of 
wooden  conduits,  miles  in  length,  through  which 
the  muddy  water  of  the  glaciers  is  conveyed  to 
the  thirsty  roots  of  the  vines.    It  grows  warm  and 


no  Swiss  Life 

' '  living  "  as  it  flows  through  the  troughs,  and, 
with  the  sediment  thus  brought  along,  proves 
very  grateful  to  the  grape-bearing  stocks.  The 
resulting  wine  ought  to  be  good,  for  no  one 
knows,  save  those  who  are  engaged  therein,  how 
perilous  is  the  work  of  arranging  and  fixing 
these  conduits.  They  have  frequently  to  be  car- 
ried along  dizzy  heights  and  over  dangerous  ra- 
vines, and,  often  enough,  when  least  thought  of, 
the  avalanche  will  come  and  carry  them  away. 
Then,  if  the  vines  are  not  to  perish,  they  must  be 
restored;  and  so  great  is  the  peril  of  life  and  limb 
thus  encountered  that  repairs  are  rarely  made 
without  the  priest  being  present  with  the  sacra- 
ment in  case  of  need. 

About  1.6  per  cent,  of  the  soil  under  cultivation 
in  Switzerland  is  devoted  to  the  culture  of  the 
grape.  It  flourishes  to  the  best  advantage  in  the 
cantons  of  Vaud,  Neuchatel,  Zurich,  and  gener- 
ally in  the  larger  river  valleys.  The  only  can- 
tons in  which  the  vine  is  not  cultivated  to  some 
extent  are  those  of  Schwyz,  Appenzell,  and  Un- 
terwalden.  Tessin  has  the  largest  area  under 
viticulture,  its  vineyards  in  all  covering  some- 
thing like  thirty-two  square  miles.  Vaud  comes 
next  with  twenty-one  square  miles,  and  Zurich 
follows  with  twenty  square  miles.  Vaud  is,  per- 
haps, the  most  noted  for  its  vine-culture,  its  con- 
nection with  the  industry  being  of  very  ancient 
date.  The  walled  terraces  lining  the  hills  above 
the  I^ake  of  Geneva,  devoted  to  the  cultivation  of 


The  Culture  of  the  Vine       1 1 1 

the  vine,  are  a  sight  to  behold.  * '  You  seem  to 
have  built  them  to  last  for  all  eternity,"  remarked 
one  day  an  American  to  an  old  Vaudois  vigneron. 
"  What  would  you  ?  "  he  replied.  *'  Are  we  not 
eternally  thirsty  ?  ' ' 

Each  canton  has  its  peculiar  customs  in  con- 
nection with  the  vintage.  Some  may  be  dying 
out,  others  linger.  In  out-of-the-way  parts  of 
Vaud,  I  am  told,  it  is  still  the  custom  for  the 
overseer  to  claim  a  kiss  from  the  young  woman 
who,  in  plucking,  allows  a  bunch  to  escape  her 
eye,  for 

**  they  are  soft,  and  should  be  singly  stripped 
From  off  the  branch  by  maiden's  dainty  band." 

Times  are  changing,  however,  and  now  it  is  rare 
for  the  daughters  of  the  peasant  cultivator  to  stay 
at  home  and  help  at  the  vintage.  They  find  bet- 
ter employment  in  other  branches  of  industry — in 
teaching,  in  millinery,  in  service  in  the  towns, 
etc.  Hence  the  cultivator  is  obliged  to  have  re- 
course to  hired  labour,  and  so  finds  it  harder  to 
make  his  toil  pay.  Such  is  not  always  the  case, 
however.  An  interesting  exception  was  brought 
to  light  the  other  day,  when  a  poor  vig7iero7i^  sud- 
denly stricken  with  illness,  as  well  as  the  elder 
members  of  his  famil}^  was  grievously  afflicted  to 
see  the  beautiful  days  passing  away  while  he  was 
unable  to  do  the  work  required  in  his  little  vine- 
yard. However,  a  dozen  of  his  neighbours,  see- 
ing  his   unhappy   position,    although   each   had 


112  Swiss  Life 

enough  work  of  his  own,  went  and  banked  up  his 
vines  for  him,  and,  indeed,  did  all  that  was  press- 
ingly  needful  —  an  act  which,  as  the  poor  fellow 
remarked,  did  him  more  good  than  a  batch  of 
doctors  could.     And  verily  one  can  believe  it! 

Vevey  may  be  said  to  be  the  centre  of  the  vine 
industry  of  Canton  Vaud.  There  an  ancient  guild 
exists,  known  as  V Abbaye  des  Vignerons,  whose 
mission  it  is  to  promote  the  cultivation  of  the 
vine.  Every  year  it  sends  out  '*  cunning  men  " 
into  the  surrounding  country  to  view  the  vine- 
yards, to  see  whose  vines  are  the  best  dressed,  and 
whose  stocks  produce  the  best  grapes  and  the 
noblest  wine.  Then,  in  accordance  with  this  re- 
port, various  prizes  are  awarded,  medals,  serpes 
d'hon7ieur{^r\imng-ho6ks),  etc.  Moreover,  every 
ten  or  fifteen  years  a  great  festival  is  held,  called 
la  Fete  des  Vignerons,  possibly  a  relic  of  old  Ro- 
man times,  when  the  feast  of  Bacchus  was  very 
religiously  observed,  and  no  doubt  duly  enjoyed. 

Anyway,  it  is  known  that  in  the  neighbouring 
village  of  Cully,  on  the  margin  of  the  lake,  the 
Romans  had  a  temple  to  Father  Bacchus,  an  in- 
scribed stone  referring  to  it  having  been  discov- 
ered there.  Cully  is  the  centre  of  a  district  famed 
for  a  special  crue  of  wine  named  Lavaux.  It  is 
made  from  a  grape  noted  for  its  luscious  qualities, 
and — need  it  be  vSaid? — a  great  temptation  to  boys. 
Well  do  I  recall  the  gleam  of  delight  which  used 
to  come  into  the  eyes  of  a  venerable  huissier  of 
Geneva,  a  native  of  the  I^avaux  region,  whenever 


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The  Culture  of  the  Vine       ii^ 


3 


mention  was  made  of  the  grapes  of  Cully.  "  The 
grapes  of  Cully!  "  he  would  exclaim.  **  Many  's 
the  time  I  '  ve  run  the  risk  of  a  dose  of  salt  in  my 
legs  for  taking  them  without  leave !  ' '  And  then 
he  would  go  on  to  explain  that  it  used  to  be  per- 
missible— it  may  be  still,  for  aught  I  know — for 
the  cultivator  who  found  boys  among  his  vines 
taking  the  grapes  to  discharge  at  their  legs  a  shot- 
gun loaded  with  salt  in  place  of  pellets.  The 
practice  was,  I  believe,  common  in  other  parts  of 
Switzerland  besides  Canton  Vaud,  and  may  have 
had  the  effect  of  checking  the  inroads  of  the  tim- 
orous. But  for  the  bold  of  heart,  what  was  a  little 
smarting  in  the  legs ! 

Besides  the  Lavaux  above  mentioned,  Vaud 
produces  La  Cote,  Dezalay,  Montreux,  Ville- 
neuve,  and  Yvorne.  The  best-known  wines  of 
Valais  are  D61e,  Coquimper,  La  Marque,  Anni- 
viers,  and  Vin  du  Glacier,  so  called  from  the  fact 
that  the  inhabitants  of  the  Val  d'Anniviers  store 
their  vats  in  cellars  built  high  up  in  the  moun- 
tains. From  Visp  (in  Valais)  to  Montreux  and 
Geneva  the  wine  chiefly  produced  is  white. 
White  wine  is  grown  very  largely,  too,  on  the 
shores  of  the  Lake  of  Neuchatel  and  around  the 
Lake  of  Biel,  although  these  districts  yield  a  good 
red  wine  as  well.  White  wines  are  also  produced 
at  the  northern  end  of  the  Lake  of  Constance, 
along  the  Rhine  Valley,  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Aar  as  far  as  Basel,  and  on  both  sides  of  the  Lake 
of  Zurich. 

8 


114  Swiss  Life 

The  most  notable  districts  for  red  wines,  how- 
ever, are  the  vine-lands  of  Schaffhausen  and  the 
contiguous  wine-growing  districts  of  Zurich  and 
Thurgau.  Tessin  likewise  produces  a  good  red 
wine;  but  the  Italian  canton  has  suffered  from 
the  introduction  of  American  stocks,  which  yield 
a  poor  crop,  although  I  have  tasted  a  native  wine 
of  the  Italian  canton  equal  to  the  best  Chianti. 

Among  the  better-known  red  wines  coming 
from  the  German  cantons  are  Hallaiier  from 
Schaffhausen,  Neftenbacher  from  Zurich,  and 
Goldwandler  from  Aargau.  One  should  mention 
also  the  Einsiedeln  brand,  I^eutschen,  the  produce 
of  the  celebrated  vineyard  belonging  to  the  monks 
of  that  ilk.  Who,  moreover,  that  has  lived  among 
the  Swiss  but  has  heard  of  the  famous  Schweizer 
Blut  (Swiss  blood)  produced  from  vines  grown 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  St.  Jakob,  in  the  valley 
of  the  Birs,  near  Basel,  where,  in  1444,  fifteen 
hundred  Swiss  withstood  a  French  army  of 
twentyfold  their  strength,  and  although  they  left 
all  but  fifty  of  their  number  dead  on  the  field, 
thrice  their  numbers  of  the  enemy  shared  the 
honour  of  their  burial  ?  Schweizer  Blut  ought 
surely  to  be  a  good  and  invigorating  wine. 

The  principal  stocks  favoured  in  Switzerland 
are  the  Clavner,  the  White  Traminer,  the  Ranch- 
ing, and  the  Elbing.  From  the  first-named  nearly 
all  the  red  wines  of  the  northern  and  eastern  can- 
tons are  produced,  as  well  as  those  of  Neuchatel. 
Only  in  Tessin  and  the  southern  valleys  of  Grau- 


The  Culture  of  the  Vine      115 

biinden  is  red  wine  manufactured  from  any  other 
grape.  The  White  Traminer  is  grown  almost  ex- 
clusively in  the  cantons  of  Vaud  and  Geneva;  it 
is  met  with  also  in  Valais  and  in  the  rural  half- 
canton  of  Basel-land.  The  Ranching  is  culti- 
vated chiefly  on  the  shores  of  the  Lake  of  Zurich 
and  in  the  Simmenthal,  while  the  Klbing,  a  white- 
wine  stock,  is  confined  for  the  most  part  to  the 
cantons  of  Schaffhausen,  Thurgau,  and  Basel,  al- 
though it  is  cultivated  likewise  in  what  are 
known  as  the  **  wine-lands  "  near  Zurich.  In  ad- 
dition to  these  vines,  others  are  here  and  there  to 
be  met  with  of  less  note,  though  perhaps  equally 
noteworthy.  Besides  the  Vitis  latrusca,  or  wild 
vine,  of  Tessin,  there  is  the  Riesling,  from  which 
a  very  delicate  wine  is  made,  and  the  Reze,  from 
which  is  produced  the  Vin  du  Glacier. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  culture  of  the  vine 
in  Switzerland  is  carried  on  at  a  loftier  altitude 
than  in  any  other  part  of  Europe,  barring  Savoy 
and  the  Maritime  Alps  in  the  south  of  France. 
In  Valais  the  grape  is  grown  to  the  elevation  of 
nine  hundred  metres. 

It  is  estimated  that  the  average  annual  produc- 
tion of  wine  in  Switzerland  amounts  to  nearly  a 
million  and  a  half  hectolitres.  And  yet  the 
quantity  produced  is  not  sufl&cient  to  supply  the 
needs  of  the  population !  Certain  it  is  that  a  very 
large  quantity  is  imported — from  fifteen  to  sixteen 
million  gallons  annually,  according  to  the  returns. 
These  foreign  wines,  say  the  natives,  who  prefer 


ii6  Swiss  Life 

their  own  crtie,  are  chiefly  for  foreigners.  And 
they  sometimes  tell  you  interesting  stories — the 
inn-keepers,  that  is — illustrative  of  the  little  for- 
eigners know  about  good  wine.  They  will  tell 
you,  for  instance,  how  an  English  "  Mjdor,"  or 
an  American  millionaire,  rejected  a  certain  wine 
set  before  him  because  it  was  not  sufficiently  high- 
priced  ;  but  when  the  same  wine  was  served  with 
another  label,  and  at  four  times  the  price,  he 
smacked  his  lips  over  it,  and  said  it  was  "  fine." 
Good  stories,  though  not  exactly  new.  But  the 
Swiss  do  not  indulge  in  this  kind  of  thing  nowa- 
days so  much  as  they  did  formerly.  There  are 
some  sixteen  thousand  hotel-keepers  in  Switzer- 
land, and  they  know  who  butter  their  bread. 


CHAPTER  IX 


IvIFK  AND   WORK   IN   THEJ   ALPS 


WHILE  various  branches  of  industry  occupy 
the  energies  of  the  Swiss  people,  one  is 
pre-eminent,  insomuch  that  it  may  be  called  the 
national  industry.  I  refer  to  the  various  forms  of 
husbandry  comprised  in  agriculture  and  pastoral 
pursuits  generally.  Of  agriculture,  properly  so- 
called,  there  is  comparatively  little  in  Switzerland, 
and  that  little  is  very  largely  confined  to  the  wide 
plateau  that  runs  from  east  to  west,  from  the 
Lake  of  Constance  to  the  Lake  of  Geneva.  The 
cereal  produce  is  so  small  that  it  would  not  suffice 
for  the  needs  of  the  population  without  the  aid  of 
large  supplies  from  abroad.  The  climate  and  the 
nature  of  the  ground  militate  against  agriculture 
in  this  form.  But  what  the  Swiss  farmer  misses 
in  such  respects  he  makes  up  for  in  the  direction 
of  cattle-breeding,  cheese-making,  and  other 
allied  pursuits.  Reference  has  elsewhere  been 
made  to  the  extent  and  importance  of  the  cheese- 
manufacture  carried  on  in  the  Gruyere  district 
and  in  the  Emmenthal  and  neighbouring  vales. 
Many  of  thCvSe  extensive  valleys,  together  with 

IJ7 


ii8  Swiss  Life 

their  uplands,  constitute  almost  ideal  places  for 
the  rearing  of  cattle  and  for  the  products  of  the 
dairy. 

But  there  are  other  parts  where  the  activity  of 
the  husbandman  is  confined  to  much  narrower 
limits,  and  where  the  results  of  his  labour  are  in 
consequence  not  only  less  fruitful,  but  of  a  far 
more  precarious  nature.  I  refer  to  the  husband- 
man of  the  *'alps,"  properly  so-called.  When 
once  the  broad  central  tableland  of  Switzerland  is 
passed,  and  we  begin  to  ascend  towards  the  higher 
regions  which  terminate  in  the  peaks  of  perpetual 
snow,  nearly  all  that  is  not  bare  rock  is  rough 
heath  and  pasture-land.  These  mountain  pas- 
tures, or  '  *  alps, ' '  are  common  property,  and  upon 
them  all  those  of  the  commune  to  which  they  be- 
long have  the  right  to  feed  their  cattle.  The 
right,  however,  has  its  restrictions,  each  pasture 
being  divided  into  so  many  Sibsse,  according  to 
the  number  of  cows  it  can  support,  and  no  one  is 
allowed  more  than  a  fair  share  of  such  pasturage. 

The  traveller  in  the  Alps  is  often  struck  by  the 
almost  total  absence  of  cattle  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  villages.  His  hotel  or  pension  is  re- 
gularly supplied  with  the  most  delicious  milk  and 
cream,  but  for  any  evidence  as  to  whence  they  are 
derived  he  may  look  in  vain,  unless  his  curiosity 
leads  him  to  explore  some  of  the  higher  valleys, 
generally  far  remote  from  the  beaten  track. 
About  the  houses  in  the  valley  he  will  see  the 
peasant,  aided  by  all  the  members  of  his  family, 


Life  and  Work  in  the  Alps    119 

down  even  to  the  tiniest  child  capable  of  holding 
a  rake,  busy  in  his  little  garden  or  in  the  near- 
lying  meadow.  From  the  earliest  dawn  of  day 
to  the  last  gleam  of  twilight  all  must  be  at  work; 
for,  the  summer  being  short,  everything  depends 
upon  getting  in  the  crops  while  the  sun  shines. 

In  these  upland  regions,  where  a  man's  wealth, 
like  that  of  the  patriarchs  of  old,  is  measured  by 
the  number  of  his  cattle,  and  the  produce  derived 
from  them,  the  first  essential  is  a  plenteous  supply 
of  ha}^  ;  because  during  the  long  winter  months 
the  cattle  have  to  be  carefully  housed  and  fed 
upon  the  yield  of  the  summer  meadows.  Nature 
is  bounteously  helpful  to  this  end,  some  of  the 
lower  and  better  pastures  giving  two  and  even 
three  crops  of  grass  in  the  year.  If,  however,  the 
hay-crop  is  usually  plenteous  and  good,  that  of 
grain  is  too  often  the  very  reverse.  The  stalk  is 
invariably  short,  and  the  ear  miserly.  It  is  gen- 
erally grown  in  such  small  patches,  too,  that  a 
stranger  is  apt  to  wonder  what  can  be  the  use  of 
planting  it.  But  herein  lies  one  of  the  marvels 
of  Swiss  life  in  some  of  the  remoter  valleys.  On 
his  little  holding,  together  with  his  rights  in  the 
Allmend—iha.t  is,  land  held  in  common,  whether 
arable  or  pasture,  meadow  or  forest — the  peasant 
and  his  family  depend  almost  wholly.  Hence  he 
plants  his  patch  of  wheat,  his  patch  of  barley,  or 
oats;  he  grows  enough  potatoes  for  his  household 
and  his  pigs  ;  while  from  his  little  fields  of  hemp 
and  flax  are  not  infrequently  woven  the  family 


120  Swiss  Life 

linen  and  the  dresses  of  the  women — the  work  of 
the  latter  during  the  long  winter  nights,  when 
there  is  little  else  to  be  done.  Even  his  own  rough 
brown  homespun  may  be  the  produce  of  his  home- 
grown sheep.  In  short,  the  greater  part  of  what 
he  and  his  family  eat  and  wear  is  the  result  of  the 
common  toil.  Few  who  have  not  seen  it  can  im- 
agine what  this  means  in  varied  and  never-ending 
industry — one  may  say,  in  never-ending  contest 
with  nature.  It  is  an  everlasting  surprise  to 
those  who  know  what  the  life  is.  But  though 
wonderful  as  an  evidence  of  what  human  energy 
and  human  effort  can  do,  such  an  unceasing  strain 
on  the  vital  powers  has  its  tragic  side.  This  is 
seen  in  the  women  prematurely  bent  and  old,  in 
the  often  stunted  forms  of  children  whose  young 
faces  reflect  the  sober  kindness  and  the  mature 
wisdom  of  age,  rather  than  the  sportfulness  and 
gaiety  of  youth. 

Much  of  the  toil  of  this  laborious  form  of  agri- 
culture falls  upon  the  frailer  members  of  the 
family.  While  the  husband  is  away,  perhaps 
acting  as  guide  or  porter  to  a  group  of  climbers, 
or  with  the  cattle  on  the  higher  pastures,  the  wife 
may  be  seen  toiling  in  sun  or  shower  in  the  bit  of 
garden,  hoeing,  weeding,  or,  with  the  help  of  a 
younger  member  of  the  family,  distributing  the 
carefully  accumulated  manure  among  the  growing 
crops.  Nothing  is  allowed  to  go  to  waste  in  the 
sordid  economy  of  the  Swiss  peasant.  The  drain- 
ings  of  cow-sheds,  pig -sties,  and  dung-hills,  the 


Life  and  Work  in  the  Alps    121 

scatterings  of  fowl-houses — all  are  parsimoniously 
saved,  and,  when  the  proper  time  arrives,  are 
carried  out  in  the  tubs  in  which  they  have  been 
stored  to  the  needy  crops. 

So  much  of  this  kind  of  work  is  done  by  the 
women  that  strangers  are  apt  to  think  that  the 
men  must  be  a  lazy  lot.  But  there  are  numberless 
duties  to  keep  the  men  otherwise  engaged.  The 
timber  needed  about  the  farm,  and  the  wood  for 
firing,  have  to  be  got  in  from  the  forest.  Much 
of  this  work  belongs  to  the  winter  ;  but  as  there 
are  then  often  weeks  upon  weeks  when  little  or 
nothing  can  be  done  outdoors  because  of  the 
snow,  care  has  to  be  taken  during  the  good 
weather  to  see  that  the  stock  of  firing  does  not 
run  short.  Hence,  under  the  broad  eaves  of 
every  well-conditioned  peasant's  cottage  will  be 
seen  a  plentiful  store  of  carefully  sawn  and  dried 
wood  ready  for  the  stove. 

The  chief  occupation  of  the  men  during  the 
open  months,  however,  is  with  the  cattle  in  the 
higher  pastures.  As  soon  as  the  snow  has  gone 
and  the  young  grass  begins  to  shoot  the  cattle  are 
taken  up  from  the  villages  to  the  lower  hill  pas- 
tures. This  preliminary  start  for  the  mountains 
usually  takes  place  early  in  May,  until  which 
time  the  snow  generally  lasts.  On  these  lower 
altitudes,  moving  from  place  to  place  as  the 
supply  of  food  requires,  the  herds  remain  until 
about  the  second  week  in  June,  when  they  are 
driven  still  higher  up  the  mountains,  from  which 


122  Swiss  Life 

the  snow  now  gradually  retires,  until  it  is  seen 
upon  the  higher  peaks  and  in  deep  gullies  alone. 
Here  they  remain  for  about  a  month,  and  then 
again  the  cry  is  "Upwards ' ' '  the  highest  pastures 
being  reached  earlj^  in  July. 

The  start  for  the  mountains  is  one  of  the  festive 
events  of  the  Alpine  year,  and  it  is  made  the 
occasion  of  much  rejoicing.  Those  who  accom- 
pany the  herds,  which  sometimes  number  two 
hundred  head,  and  even  more,  will  be  accom- 
panied for  some  distance  on  the  way  by  friends 
and  neighbours,  with  music  and  song.  Such 
sights  are  very  pleasing,  for  no  one  can  rejoice, 
in  their  simple  way,  more  heartily  than  these 
people  do.  To  hear  a  company  of  these  herdsmen 
and  mountaineers  sing,  with  full  throat,  their  na- 
tive songs,  that  seem  to  breathe  the  very  air  and 
fragrance  of  the  mountains,  is  a  thing  never  to 
be  forgotten ;  and  the  charm  is  greatly  heightened 
if  the  song  be  accompanied  by  the  multitudinous 
tinkle  of  the  cow-bells. 

When  heard  close  at  hand,  the  sound  of  these 
Tryc/ilen,  as  they  are  called  in  the  German  tongue, 
is  too  much  of  a  jangle  to  be  quite  pleasant  ;  but 
get  them  at  a  distance  of  a  few  hundred  yards, 
and  it  is  astonishing  how  softened  and  harmonised 
they  have  become.  In  place  of  a  discord,  in 
which  different  tones  jar  one  against  the  other, 
the  ear  detects  only  a  sweet  accord,  in  which  the 
various  notes,  falling  each  and  all  into  their  due 
place,    produce   a  most   pleasing  melody.     And 


Life  and  Work  in  the  Alps    123 

when  to  this  simple  accompaniment  a  number  of 
voices  sing,  making  the  chorus  echo  and  re-echo 
amongst  the  hills,  the  effect  is  exceedingly  fine. 
This  Alpine  music  is  best  appreciated  in  such 
songs  as  Kuhreihen  betjn  Aufzug  auf  die  Alp — 
that  is,  Ranz  des  Vaches,  on  the  departure  for  the 
mountain  pastures.  The  first  stanza  is  as  fol- 
lows : 

*'  Der  Ustig  mott  cho,  der  Schnee  zergeit  scho, 
Der  Himmel  is  blaue  ;  der  Gugger  het  g'schraue, 
Der  Maya  syg  cho.     AUihoh  ! 
Ivustig  use'n-us  em  Stall  mit  de  lube  Chiielme  ! 
Uesi  schoni  Zyt  isch  cho,  Luft  u  Freiheit  wartet  scho 
Dinne  uf  de  Fliiehne. 

Allihoh  !  Tra-la-la  !  " 

I  will  not  pretend  to  translate.  Let  those  read 
who  can.  It  is  good  homely  Swiss,  in  which  the 
singer  rejoices  that  spring  is  come  again,  that 
the  snow  has  gone,  and  the  heavens  are  blue,  and 
that  in  the  beautiful  weather  he  can  enjoy  the 
sweet  air  and  freedom  of  the  mountains  with  his 
beloved  cattle,  freeing  his  lungs  the  while  with 
his  lusty  "  Allihoh  "  and  "  Tra-la-la  !  " 

The  native  songs  of  this  kind  are  very  numer- 
ous, and  not  a  few  of  them  are  exceedingly  beau- 
tiful, touching  in  turn  nearly  every  chord  of  the 
human  heart.  They  are  true  folk-songs,  giving 
free  and  spontaneous  expression  to  the  feelings, 
and  so,  as  it  were,  live  on  the  popular  tongue. 
One  cannot  walk  many  miles  through  the  villages, 


124  Swiss  Life 

or  along  the  mountain  paths,  without  hearing 
snatches  of  these  effusions  trolled  out  at  full 
throat,  the  ''jodel'd"  choruses  perhaps  being 
taken  up  by  other  voices  far  fields  away.  Many 
of  them  are  in  praise  of  the  herdsman's  life,  like 
that  beginning — 

*'  Es  gibt  wohl  kein  Leben,  wie  Kiihers  so  schon." 

Two  of  the  stanzas  run  much  as  follows: 

**  No  Hfe  like  the  herdsman's,  so  lusty  and  fair, 
Breathing  and  joying  the  sweet  mountain  air  ; 
"With  the  sun  in  the  morning  he  rises  and  swells 
With  joy  as  he  hears  the  gentle  cow-bells. 

**  And  sounds  he  his  alp-horn,  its  music  is  borne 
Away  down  the  valleys  on  wings  of  the  morn  ; 
He  feels  such  accord  with  nature  around, 
It  seems  in  the  alp  alone  gladness  is  found." 

The  alp-horn,  although  it  may  be  frequently 
heard,  is  not  so  commonly  used  as  formerly.  It 
is  an  uncouth  instrument,  consisting  of  a  hollow 
tube  of  wood,  wound  round  with  the  inner  fibre 
of  birch  or  other  bark,  and  some  six  feet  in 
length.  It  has  but  a  small  compass  of  notes;  but 
when  these  are  caught  up  and  echoed  back  and 
forth  by  the  rocky  acclivities  the  effect  is  very 
striking.  In  the  remoter  mountain  valleys  the 
alp-horn  is  still  used  for  the  purpose  of  calling 
the  cattle  together,  and  in  some  of  the  higher 
alps,  where  no  church-bell  can  be  heard,  it  often 


Life  and  Work  in  the  Alps    125 

serves  for  proclaiming  the  vesper  hour.  The 
Senn,  immediatel}'  the  sun  has  set,  raises  his 
horn,  and  with  it  makes  the  mountainside  re- 
sound with  the  first  few  notes  of  the  psalm, 
**  Praise  ye  the  Lord."  The  sound  is  taken  up 
from  other  alps,  and  the  melodious  echoes,  re- 
peated far  and  near,  are  the  signal  for  all  within 
hearing  to  uncover  their  heads  and  say  their  even- 
ing prayer.  This  done,  the  cattle  are  collected 
together  for  the  night,  and  the  herdsmen  retire 
to  their  rest. 

Not  all  the  men  of  the  villages  go  with  the 
cattle  to  the  higher  pastures,  but  just  enough  to 
do  the  work  that  is  required.  And  when  it  is 
said  that  there  may  be  from  one  hundred  to  two 
hundred  or  more  cows  feeding  on  one  pasture, 
and  that  they  have  to  be  milked  morning  and 
evening,  and  their  milk  turned  into  cheese,  it  will 
be  easily  understood  that  there  is  plenty  to  do. 
Besides  the  work  of  attending  to  the  cows  there 
are  many  things  to  be  done,  such  as  carrying 
wood  from  the  forests,  no  light  task,  for  these 
summer  pastures  are  often  considerably  above  the 
region  where  trees  will  grow. 

One  may  have  some  idea  of  the  altitude  reached 
in  ascending  the  mountains  by  taking  note  of 
the  vegetation.  The  vine,  as  a  rule,  is  not  seen 
beyond  an  elevation  of  two  thousand  feet,  al- 
though exceptions  to  the  rule  occur,  especially  in 
the  canton  of  Valais.  The  oak,  and  with  it 
wheat,  ceases  to  thrive  a  thousand  feet  higher. 


126  Swiss  Life 

Barley  may  be  seen  as  high  as  four  thousand  and 
even  five  thousand  feet.  The  beech  disappears  at 
about  the  same  altitude,  leaving  the  pines  and  firs 
alone  to  enjoy  the  fresher  and  rarer  atmosphere  of 
the  slopes  and  ridges  from  six  thousand  to  seven 
thousand  feet  in  height.  Even  here,  where  all 
tree-life  ceases,  it  is  astonishing  to  find  how  pro- 
lific vegetation  is  in  the  form  of  grass  and  flower. 
There  is,  perhaps,  nothing  in  the  world,  of  its 
kind,  so  beautiful  as  an  Alpine  meadow  glisten- 
ing with  its  numberless  flowers.  To  enumerate 
them  and  name  their  colours  would  give  no  idea 
of  the  splendour  of  the  picture  they  make.  A 
Yorkshire  moor,  covered  with  heather,  and 
stretching  for  miles,  one  blaze  of  purple,  is  a 
sight  to  make  the  heart  leap  after  a  period  of 
absence.  But  the  glow  of  one  of  these  mountain 
pastures,  especially  in  the  spring  and  early  sum- 
mer, is  entirely  without  parallel.  No  wonder 
the  mountaineer  says — 

**  Wie  viel  Blumen  auf  den  Auen, 
Welch  ein  Singen,  welch  ein  Ringen, 
Welche  Wonne  hier  !  " 

Pansies,  anemones,  gentians,  the  bluest  of  for- 
get-me-nots, chrysanthemums,  white  and  yellow, 
hare-bells,  and,  most  beautiful  of  all,  the  hardy 
Alpine  rose,  not  to  mention  scores  of  others, 
of  the  richest  and  most  varied  dyes,  are  seen 
mingled  and  waving  together  amongst  the  lus- 
cious grass  in  the  wildest  profusion.    Of  all  these 


Life  and  Work  in  the  Alps    127 

the  Alpine  rose,  a  variety  of  rhododendron,  and 
of  a  rich  red  colour,  is  the  favourite  flower  of 
the  Swiss,  being  regarded  as  an  emblem  of  life 
and  joy,  w^hile  the  pale  edelweiss  symbolises 
death  and  eternity.  Like  the  latter,  the  Alpen- 
rdsli — to  give  it  its  pretty  diminutive  name  — 
thrives  only  in  the  higher  regions  of  the  Alps  ; 
but  it  lives  in  the  throng,  and  joins,  as  it  were, 
in  the  general  flower-choir,  while  the  edelweiss 
dwells  more  or  less  alone  and  apart,  affecting  the 
barer  rocks  and  ledges  on  the  verge  of  the 
glaciers  and  close  to  the  eternal  snows. 

Almost  as  numberless  as  the  flowers,  and  many 
of  them  as  beautiful,  are  the  insect  swarms  that 
throng  these  solitudes.  The  butterflies  are  espe- 
cially rich  and  varied.  The  flies,  however,  are  a 
great  pest,  one  in  particular,  popularly  called 
Breme,  leaving  one  little  peace  in  certain 
localities.  It  is  a  sort  of  large  horse-fly  ;  but 
even  among  the  cattle  it  is  not  so  wild  and 
vicious  as  at  times  on  the  Lake  of  Lucerne. 
This  plague  is  one  of  the  results  of  the  thought- 
less destruction  of  birds,  which  prevailed  in  all 
parts  of  the  country  until  the  Federal  authorities 
took  the  matter  up  and  passed  a  law  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  feathered  tribes. 

Although  the  life  of  the  Senn,  or  cowherd,  has 
its  idyllic  side,  it  is  a  rude,  rough,  and  very 
arduous  existence.  He  lives  hard,  works  hard, 
and  lies  hard.  The  chalet  (in  German  Sennhutte) 
in  which  he  dwells  is  literally  a  log  cabin,  formed 


128  Swiss  Life 

of  trunks  of  pines,  notched  at  the  ends  where 
they  dovetail  one  into  another.  Its  roof  is  low 
and  nearly  flat,  and  is  heavily  weighted  with 
stones  to  keep  its  shingles  from  being  blown 
away  by  sudden  gusts  of  wind.  Such  structures 
serve  their  purpose  as  summer  dwellings,  when 
they  are  all  the  better,  perhaps,  for  their  free 
ventilation  ;  but  they  would  be  unendurable  in 
the  winter- time.  The  furniture  they  contain  is 
of  the  most  primitive  description,  consisting  gen- 
erally of  but  a  table  and  a  rude  bench,  with  a 
cauldron  in  which  to  heat  the  milk,  and  the  other 
necessary  utensils  for  cheese-making.  The  bed 
that  is  provided  seldom  goes  beyond  a  truss  of 
hay. 

Occasionally  the  owner  of  a  number  of  cattle 
may  go  up  to  the  higher  pastures  with  his  whole 
household,  in  which  case,  of  course,  there  will  be 
a  roomier  chalet  and  better  provision  for  family 
living.  This  sort  of  domesticity  in  the  summer 
alps,  however,  is  rare,  the  work  of  taking  care  of 
the  cattle  and  making  the  cheese  being  generally 
left  to  experienced  Sennen  and  their  assistants. 
In  these  cases — that  is,  when  the  cattle  of  a  num- 
ber of  owners  are  all  herded  together — the  cows 
of  each  are  tried  from  time  to  time,  generally  once 
a  week,  to  see  how  much  milk  they  give.  This 
is  done  so  that  the  owners  may  be  apportioned  at 
the  end  of  the  season  an  amount  of  cheese  pro- 
portionate to  the  yield  of  their  kine,  which  in  the 
best  seasons  and  from  the  finest  cows  will  average 


CO 

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111 

I 


Life  and  Work  in  the  Alps    129 

as  much  as  two  hundredweights  for  the  four 
months.  The  goats  are  treated  in  the  same  way. 
Goats,  however,  are  kept  in  separate  pastures, 
generally  where  the  grass  is  sparser  and  more 
difficult  to  get  at,  on  account  of  the  precipitous 
nature  of  the  ground.  Sheep  usually  share  the 
same  pastures  with  the  goats,  and  are  often  left 
for  weeks  together  to  seek  out  what  scanty  feed 
they  can  among  the  craggy  ridges  and  well-nigh 
inaccessible  slopes  of  the  mountains. 

The  short  season  of  the  higher  pastures  soon 
comes  to  an  end.  At  the  most  it  lasts  but  seven 
or  eight  weeks,  when  a  descent  is  made  to  what 
are  called  the  middle  pastures.  Here  the  herds 
may  remain  a  fortnight  or  three  weeks  to  eat  the 
after-grass,  finally  retiring  to  the  lower  vales  dur- 
ing the  early  part  of  October.  Towards  the  end 
of  the  month,  sometimes  before,  winter  begins 
his  hard  reign,  heralded  by  fierce  tempests  and 
heavy  downfalls  of  snow,  which  compel  the  close 
housing  of  all  domestic  cattle  for  many  months 
to  come. 

It  need  hardly  be  said  how  arduous  this  life  of 
the  Alpine  husbandman  and  his  family  is.  It  is 
indeed  only  those  enjoying  the  most  robust  health 
who  can  stand  it.  In  going  among  them  one 
sees  how  strong  and  hearty  many  of  them  are  ; 
one  sees,  too,  how  prematurely  it  ages  both  men 
and  women.  What  is  not  seen  on  the  surface,  as 
it  were,  are  the  numbers  the  rigours  of  the  life 
kill  off  before  their  time.     Need  one  wonder, 


I30 


Swiss  Life 


then,  that  in  Switzerland,  as  with  us,  there  is  a 
gradual,  but  increasing  exodus  from  the  rural 
districts  into  the  towns,  and  that  there,  too,  the 
newspapers  are  busy  with  the  cause  and  the 
remedy  ? 


CHAPTER  X 


CANTONAL  LIFK  AND  CHARACTER 


NOTWITHSTANDING  the  fact  that  during 
the  past  half-century  there  have  been  two 
main  influences  at  work  tending  to  unify  the 
Swiss  people,  and  so  to  break  down  the  bounds 
of  that  narrower  clannish  or  cantonal  spirit  which 
is,  and  ever  has  been,  one  of  the  distinguishing 
characteristics  of  life  in  Switzerland  ;  yet  the 
broad  lines  of  cantonal  demarcation  are  as 
strongly  felt  to-day  as  they  ever  were.  The  two 
unifying  influences  I  here  refer  to  are  those  of 
the  centralising  tendency  of  the  Federal  autonomy 
and  tne  easy  means  of  communication  between 
all  parts  of  the  Confederation.  The  latter  in 
especial  should,  one  would  think,  in  time  smooth 
out  all  the  more  violent  differences  of  character 
which  distinguish  the  people  of  the  various  can- 
tons. Hitherto,  however,  neither  of  the  influ- 
ences named  appears  to  have  effected  much  in 
the  direction  indicated.  Nor  has  the  levelling-up 
process  of  popular  education  done  a  great  deal  to 
that  end.  But  that,  perhaps,  was  not  to  be  ex- 
pected,   seeing   that   education,    although   made 

131 


132  Swiss  Life 

compulsory  and  gratuitous  by  the  Federal  Con- 
stitution, is  nevertheless  a  cantonal  matter,  and 
so  becomes  "national"  in  quite  as  distinct  a 
sense  as  we  may  speak  of  Scotch,  Irish,  or  Welsh 
education  being  national.  Indeed,  in  some  re- 
spects there  are  more  marked  features  of  differ- 
ence between  the  methods  of  education  in  vogue 
in  some  of  the  Swiss  cantons  than  exist  between 
the  systems  at  work  in  Scotland,  Wales,  and  Ire- 
land respectively  ;  and,  of  course,  these  tend  to 
accentuate  still  more  the  differences  of  cantonal 
character. 

It  might  be  supposed  that  there  would  be  a 
general  resemblance  visible  among  the  people  of 
the  French-speaking  cantons — la  Suisse  romande. 
But  if  there  be  any  such  resemblance  it  is  of  a 
very  superficial  nature.  The  people  of  Geneva 
are  as  distinct  from  those  of  Vaud  as  it  is  well 
possible  to  be,  and  this  notwithstanding  that  both 
are  pre-eminently,  and  even  passionately,  Protest- 
ant. If  one  might  indicate  a  difference  rather 
than  describe  it,  I  should  say  that  the  Vaudois 
resemble  somewhat  the  lyowland  Scots,  while  the 
people  of  Geneva  remind  one  more  of  the  Southern 
English. 

Geneva,  however,  must  be  taken  as  an  excep- 
tion. It  is,  perhaps,  the  most  cosmopolitan  city 
in  the  world,  and  certainly  one  of  the  pleasantest 
in  which  to  live,  whether  considered  from  the 
point  of  view  of  its  magnificent  surroundings  or 
from  that  of  the  amiable  and  enlightened  charac- 


Cantonal  Life  and  Character     13 


'> 


ter  of  its  people.  Moreover,  the  canton  is  so 
small  that  the  spirit  of  the  city  may  be  said  to 
dominate  the  entire  people.  Very  different  is  it 
in  Vaud,  in  which  agriculture  is  the  dominant 
factor,  and  where  the  people,  outside  the  city  of 
Lausanne  —  Lausanne  the  beautiful  and  the  cul- 
tured ! — are  almost  wholly  of  the  bucolic  type, 
devoted  heart  and  soul  to  their  arable,  their 
pastures,  and  their  vineyards.  The  canton  is 
one  of  the  largest,  and  in  out-of-the-way  parts 
women  may  still  be  seen  wearing  the  old  costume 
of  the  country — a  costume  which  my  pen  has  not 
the  gift  to  describe,  but  which  may  be  seen 
painted  to  the  life  in  the  tales  of  Edouard  Rod, 
who,  though  ranked  among  the  novelists  of 
France,  is  a  native  of  Vaud,  and  I  believe  of  that 
most  characteristic  part  of  the  pays  w^herein  the 
famous  La  C6te  is  grown. 

Very  different  is  the  Freiburger  to  his  neigh- 
bour of  Vaud.  Descended,  as  is  supposed,  from 
the  Burgundians,  the  people  of  this  canton  still 
speak  in  parts  a  Romance  dialect,  known  to  the 
German-speaking  people  as  Gouverin-Wiilsch. 
The  chief  centre  of  this  speech  is  the  district 
round  about  Gruyeres,  famous  for  its  cheeses, 
which  go,  and  are  esteemed,  all  over  the  world. 
Between  fifty  and  sixty  tons  yearly  are  made  in 
the  charming  villages  that  throng  the  vales  and 
dot  the  mountainsides  of  this  beautiful  and  fertile 
canton.  In  no  other  part  of  Switzerland,  perhaps, 
does  the  idyllic  side  of  the  pastoral  life  show  to 


134  Swiss  Life 

such  advantage  as  in  Freiburg.  Although  the 
condition  of  things  has  changed  since  Byron's 
day,  and  in  some  respects  much  for  the  better, 
yet  his  description  of  this  region  stands  good  to 
this  day.  "  The  music  of  the  cow-bells,"  he 
writes,  '  *  in  the  pastures  which  reach  to  a  height 
far  above  any  mountains  in  Britain,  and  the 
shepherds  shouting  to  us  from  crag  to  crag,  and 
playing  on  their  reeds  where  the  steeps  appeared 
almost  inaccessible,  with  the  surrounding  scen- 
ery, realised  all  that  I  have  ever  heard  or  imag- 
ined of  a  pastoral  existence.  .  .  .  As  we  went 
they  played  the  Ranz  des  Vaches  and  other  airs 
by  way  of  farewell."  Here  Byron  fell  into  the 
error,  still  common,  of  supposing  the  Ranz  des 
Vaches  to  be  a  single  air,  whereas  the  name 
simply  denotes  a  class  of  melodies  peculiar  to  the 
Alpine  valleys,  and  of  which,  in  going  from  one 
part  of  Switzerland  to  another,  many  specimens 
may  be  heard.  They  are,  as  a  rule,  very  wild  in 
character,  yet  instinct  with  melody.  One  can 
well  understand  the  feeling  of  homesickness  they 
produce  in  the  breast  of  the  Swiss  mountaineer 
when  heard  in  a  distant  land,  and  the  almost 
superstitious  reverence  paid  to  a  chance-heard 
sound  recalling  the  well-remembered  notes.  The 
Ranz  des  Vaches  (or  Kuhreihen^  as  the  German- 
speaking  people  call  it)  doubtless  had  its  origin 
in  the  shrill  call  the  herdsman  has  to  make  in 
order  to  gather  his  cattle  at  milking-time.  He 
early  found  that  by  changing  his  note  he  could 


Cantonal  Life  and  Character     135 

prolong  his  call,  and,  when  the  wind  was  high, 
send  his  voice  further  by  introducing  a  falsetto 
chord.  Hence  arose  the  *' jodel,"  by  which  the 
shepherds  and  cowmen  can  make  themselves 
heard  by  their  flocks  and  herds,  and  communicate 
with  one  another,  at  very  great  distances.  The 
"  jodel  "  is  used,  too,  at  times,  by  the  women  to 
call  the  children  in  from  play  and  the  men  from 
the  pastures,  and  one  can  well  understand  how 
deeply  the  air  of  the  Kuhreihen  sinks  into  the 
being  of  a  mountain-born  Swiss. 

I  had  an  instance  of  this  once  when  on  the 
steamboat  going  to  Gothenburg.  One  of  my  fel- 
low-travellers was  a  Swiss,  who  had  been  in  busi- 
ness in  South  Africa  in  connection  with  a  Swedish 
firm  for  a  number  of  years,  and  in  all  that  time 
had  not  been  home.  He  was  now  going  to  con- 
fer with  his  firm  in  regard  to  some  new  develop- 
ments which  were  in  contemplation.  One  night 
we  were  walking  the  deck  together,  when  my 
companion  put  his  hand  on  my  arm  and  asked, 
"  Did  you  hear  that  ?  "  I  asked  what  he  meant, 
for  I  had  heard  nothing  but  the  wind  in  the  rig- 
ging. At  first  he  did  not  reply,  but  stood  with 
his  hand  raised,  listening.  Then,  after  a  moment 
or  two,  he  asked  again,  "  Did  n't  3'ou  hear  any- 
thing ?  "  I  said  I  had  not,  and  he  then  told  me 
he  had  distinctly  heard  the  Ranz  des  Vaches  of 
his  native  hills — on  the  borders  of  Freiburg  and 
Berne — and  that  he  had  recognised  his  mother's 
voice   in  it,   and  especially  her  shrill   "  jodel." 


13^  Swiss  Life 

Whatever  it  was  that  had  caught  his  ear  or  his 
inner  sense,  he  was  deeply  moved  by  it,  and  in 
the  morning  he  informed  me  that  he  should  not 
go  on  to  Stockholm,  his  destination,  but  take 
the  first  boat  to  Hamburg,  and  proceed  thence 
with  all  speed  home,  for  he  feared  something  was 
the  matter  with  his  mother. 

Freiburg  is  not  only  celebrated  for  its  Ranz  des 
Vaches,  but  for  its  stout  men  and  well-made  wo- 
men, who  still,  in  the  remoter  valleys  little  visited 
by  strangers,  preserve  their  old-time  costume, 
and  many  of  their  old-time  customs  besides.  The 
men  are  noted  for  their  skill  in  wrestling.  They 
often  meet  the  men  of  neighbouring  Berne,  and  it 
is  said  of  them  that  they  frequently  triumph  over 
their  more  stalwart  competitors  by  the  lightning- 
like rapidity  of  their  movements  and  the  dexterity 
of  their  attack  and  recovery.  These  meetings 
generally  take  place  on  Sundays,  the  evenings 
whereof  are  usually  devoted  to  the  dance,  to 
which  the  inhabitants  of  these  Arcadian  valleys 
are  greatly  addicted,  and  of  which  they  have 
many  native  forms.  Freiburg  is  a  stronghold  of 
the  Catholic  faith,  and  is  in  some  respects  one 
of  the  more  backward  cantons  ;  but  it  is,  on  the 
whole,  as  thriving  as  most,  and  its  peasantry  cer- 
tainly appear  to  be  as  happy  as  any  within  the 
bounds  of  the  Confederation. 

Different,  again,  are  the  people  of  Canton  Berne 
from  those  of  Freiburg.  The  Bernese  may  be 
taken  as  presenting  the  most  characteristic  Swiss 


Cantonal  Life  and  Character     137 

type — the  men  squarely  built,  large  of  frame, 
broad-chested,  and  rather  slow  and  heavy  of  mo- 
tion, but  with  great  grip  and  immense  reserves 
of  strength.  The  best  specimens  are  to  be  met 
with  in  the  Kmmenthal  and  the  neighbouring 
Entlebuch  and  in  the  Simmenthal,  which  are 
among  the  most  thriving  districts  in  the  canton, 
Simmenthal  in  especial  being  noted  for  its  mag- 
nificent cattle.  Its  autumnal  markets  are  thronged 
with  buyers  from  all  parts  of  Europe  eager  to 
improve  their  stocks  by  the  purchase  of  speci- 
mens from  these  herds.  The  Emmenthal  and 
the  vale  of  Entlebuch  (the  latter  in  Lucerne) 
are  equally  famous  for  their  cheeses,  which,  as 
**  Schweizer,"  are  exported  in  large  quantities  to 
northern  Europe. 

Parts  of  the  canton  of  Berne,  and  especially 
those  parts  comprised  in  the  Bernese  Oberland, 
together  with  the  Forest  Cantons  generally,  are 
noted  for  the  survival  amongst  them  of  many  old- 
world  customs  and  traits.  One  of  these,  observed 
chiefly,  I  believe,  in  Entlebuch  and  Obwald,  is 
known  as  the  Kiltgang,  and  has  reference  to  an 
old  custom  of  nocturnal  wooing,  which  is  now 
generally  modified  in  some  of  its  more  objection- 
able features.  In  many  of  the  villages  of  the 
Emme  and  the  Entle  the  younger  portion  of  the 
male  inhabitants  form  a  kind  of  vigilance  com- 
mittee to  prevent  the  well-to-do  girls  from  being 
carried  off  by  outsiders.  The  lovers  in  the  vil- 
lages who  are  of  this  set  are  permitted  to  pay 


13^  Swiss  Life 

their  visits  and  climb  to  the  windows  of  the  fair 
ones  undisturbed,  while  strenuous  opposition  is 
given  to  strangers  who  attempt  to  intrude. 

Another  custom  strongly  grafted  among  the 
peasantry  of  these  parts,  and  extending  hence  as 
far  east  as  Thurgau,  is  that  which  every  spring 
turns  the  youth  of  the  villages  to  homely  dramatic 
representations.  In  many  villages  may  be  seen  a 
frail  though  showy  erection  bearing  the  inscrip- 
tion * '  Theatre ' '  on  the  pediment  ;  but  more 
frequentl}^  the  amateur  performances  of  the  moun- 
tain youth  take  place  on  a  stage  with  nothing 
roofing  it  below  the  sky.  '  *  Da  sieht  man  oft, ' ' 
sings  Gottfried  Keller — 

"  Da  sieht  man  oft  auf  kaum  ergriinter  Wiese 
Ein  leicht  Gerust,  drauf  unter  Friihlingswolken 
In  hunter  Tracht,  voll  Eifer,  es  tragieren, 
Von  seiner  eignen  Menge  ernst  umringt." 

Gottfried  Keller  is  the  greatest  of  Switzerland's 
modern  poets,  and  in  his  writings,  both  in  prose 
and  verse,  is  enshrined  many  a  glittering  gem 
from  the  folk-lore  and  folk-life  of  the  Swiss  vales 
and  Swiss  alps.  One  of  the  most  striking,  as 
well  as  the  most  weird,  of  the  legends  associated 
with  the  mountains  of  this  central  region  is  that 
which  accounts  for  the  name  of  Mount  Pilatus 
by  connecting  it  with  the  tragical  end  of  Pilate, 
the  Roman  Governor  of  Judaea  at  the  time  of 
Christ.  It  is  a  little  far-fetched,  but  none  the 
less  dramatic  on  that  account.  According  to  the 
tradition,  the  Emperor  was  so  wroth  with  Pilate 


Cantonal  Life  and  Character     139 

for  his  doings  in  Judaea  that,  on  his  return  to 
Rome,  he  was  thrown  into  prison.  Overwhelmed 
with  his  disgrace,  the  erewhile  Governor  com- 
mitted suicide.  His  body  was  thereupon  cast 
into  the  Tiber.  But  the  Tiber  would  have  none 
of  it  ;  storms  arose,  and  continued  until  the  ill- 
blest  corpse  was  removed  from  its  waters.  It  was 
next  taken  to  Gaul  and  cast  into  the  Rhone  at 
Vienne,  near  Lyons.  But  the  same  thing  hap- 
pened there  as  in  the  Tiber ;  storms  and  tempests 
arose,  and  in  the  end  the  accursed  corpse  was 
carried  away  and  thrown  into  the  Lake  of  Geneva. 
Still,  however,  there  was  no  rest  for  poor  Pilate, 
whose  evil  spirit  continued  to  haunt  or  inhabit 
his  maledict  body  and  to  bring  blight  and  de- 
struction upon  the  lake  and  its  neighbourhood. 
Finally,  it  was  fished  up  once  more,  and  this  time 
it  was  conveyed  into  the  very  central  region  of 
the  Alps,  where,  in  close  proximity  to  Mount 
Pilatus,  then  called  "  Fractus  Mons,"  it  was  cast 
into  a  dark  mountain  lake. 

At  length,  it  was  thought,  the  unblessed  spirit, 
sunk  fathoms  deep  in  a  lone  '  *  ghast ' '  water, 
would  be  at  rest.  But  no  ;  even  here  he  who 
"  washed  his  hands"  of  Christ's  condemnation 
must  still  be  the  spirit  of  trouble  and  unrest. 
Storms  of  wind  and  rain  hung  upon  the  moun- 
tain, and  ever  and  anon  descended  in  terror  and 
might  upon  the  vales,  drowning  flocks  and  herds, 
uprooting  trees,  and  washing  away  houses  and 
crops  alike  in  one  mad  whirl  of  destruction. 


140  Swiss  Life 

This  went  on  year  after  year,  until  at  length 
deliverance  came  in  the  shape  of  a  poor  scholar. 
Hearing  of  the  terrible  things  the  people  suffered, 
and  learning  also  the  cause,  he  resolved  to  do 
battle  with  the  unquiet  ghost.  Learned  in  the 
magic  as  well  as  the  theology  of  his  time,  and 
taking  with  him  such  things  as  he  needed,  the 
young  scholar  ascended  the  mountain,  and  in  due 
course  found  himself  confronted  by  the  one-time 
Governor  of  Judaea.  It  is  needless  to  go  into 
particulars.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  Pilate  could 
not  withstand  the  travelling  scholar's  science  or 
magic,  and  was  obliged  to  submit  to  a  pact 
whereby,  on  condition  of  one  daj^'s  freedom,  he 
should  remain  at  peace  all  the  rest  of  the  year. 
The  spell  was  effectual.  Henceforth  the  land 
was  at  rest  ;  but  every  year,  on  the  return  of 
Good  Friday,  whoever  went  to  Pilate's  Lake  be- 
held, seated  upon  a  throne-like  rock  above  the 
dark  water,  the  grim,  ghostly  figure  of  him  who 
"  saw  no  ill,"  but  permitted  it.  Terrible  he  was 
of  aspect,  with  his  red  toga  of  ofiBce  about  him, 
and  whoever  looked  upon  his  face  died  within  the 
year.  No  wonder  the  mountain  had  a  dread  re- 
pute, and  that  none  went  near  it  who  could  help. 
It  was  not  until  another  scholar,  Conrad  Gesner, 
ascended  the  mountain  (1555),  and  by  his  natural 
explanation  of  the  phenomena  surrounding  it  did 
something  to  break  the  neck  of  the  superstitious 
legend. 

It  is  commonly  said  that  Pilatus  * '  gives  the 


Cantonal  Life  and  Character     141 

weather"  to  the  surrounding  country,  and  an 
element  of  truth  attaches  to  the  saying.  There 
is  usually  a  cap  of  cloud  about  its  summit,  and  if 
that  cloud  should  be  blown  out  in  long  shreds — 
that  is,  in  the  cloud-forms  called  "  stratus  " — it  is 
held  to  be  a  sure  sign  of  rain,  or,  as  the  natives 
put  it — 

*'  Hat  Pilatus  sinen  Hut, 
Dann  wird  das  Wetter  gut  ; 
Tragter  aber  einen  Degen, 
So  giebt's  wohl  sicher  Regen." 

Freely  Englished,  the  verse  would  read — 

**  If  Pilatus  has  his  cap  on, 
We  may  on  fine  weather  reckon  ; 
But  if  he  doth  wear  his  sword. 
Soaking  weather  is  the  word." 

To  turn  to  still  another  canton,  there  are  some 
respects  in  w^hich  the  inhabitants  of  Valais  may 
be  described  as  the  most  idiosyncratic  of  all  the 
peoples  in  Switzerland.  It  is  one  of  the  cantons 
wherein  both  French  and  German  are  spoken, 
the  latter  being  the  prevailing  tongue  in  Upper 
Valais,  that  wild  country  supposed  to  have  been 
originally  colonised  from  the  Haslithal,  and  said 
still  to  speak  an  old-time  German  not  unlike  that 
of  the  period  of  Pope  Hildebrand  and  the  Nibe- 
lungen  Lied.  Whether  this  be  true  or  not  I 
cannot  say;  but  I  can  vouch  for  it  that  the  canton 
still  produces  types  of  character  that  seem  to  sug- 
gest the  time  of  the  Deluge,  or  before. 


142  Swiss  Life 

The  people  of  Valais  are  chiefly  devoted  to  the 
care  of  their  flocks  and  herds,  ahhough  of  late 
years,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Obergestelen, 
a  beginning  has  been  made  with  the  cultivation 
of  rye.  Throughout  almost  the  whole  of  the  val- 
ley the  people  make  their  bread  from  a  self-planted 
grain.  It  is  of  a  dark-brown  colour,  and  often  so 
hard  that  it  has  to  be  taken  in  hand  with  a  ham- 
mer before  being  placed  on  the  table.  Can  one 
wonder  that  the  men  of  Valais  are  said  to  be  as 
hard  as  the  granite  of  their  mountains,  and  almost 
as  impervious  to  new  ideas  ?  Still,  hard  as  theie 
good  folk  are,  and  narrow  as  is  their  existence,  it 
is  impossible  to  mingle  with  them  long  without 
being  aware  of  the  deep  vein  of  poetry  which  runs 
through  and  in  a  sort  beautifies  their  lives.  It 
is  a  poetry,  however,  that  has  its  roots  in  the  deep 
religious  heart  of  the  people  rather  than  in  the 
imagination,  although  that  is  not  without  its  po- 
tency and  charm.  In  the  churchyard  of  Ober- 
gestelen may  be  seen  a  rude  weather-worn  cross 
bearing  the  inscription  :  "  Eighty-eight  in  one 
grave.  What  a  grief!  "  {Achtundachtzig  in  einem 
Grab,  welche  Trauer !).  It  is  a  memorial  of  one 
of  those  avalanche  catastrophes  which  so  often 
demand  their  tale  of  passengers  for  the  over- 
world,  and  gives  evidence  of  that  quiet,  ever- 
present  sense  of  the  Eternal  which  is  among  the 
deepest  characteristics  of  the  people,  who,  at  all 
times  face  to  face,  as  it  were,  with  the  overwhelm- 
ing forces  of  nature  in   their  most  threatening 


Cantonal  Life  and  Character     143 

shape,  have  forgotten,  if  they  ever  knew,  the 
joyous  laugh  and  shout  of  other  mountain  people. 
Turning  for  their  chief  delight  to  the  feasts  of  the 
Church,  in  place  of  worldlier  joys,  they  dress 
themselves  on  such  occasions  in  the  bright,  pic- 
turesque costumes  that  still  hold  their  ground  in 
those  parts,  their  hats  in  particular  being  adorned 
with  coloured  ribbons  according  to  the  saint 
whose  day  they  celebrate. 

A  strange  people,  for  the  most  part,  these 
Valaisans,  superstitious,  conservative,  loving 
their  old  legends,  and  still  mingling  them,  so  to 
speak,  with  their  everyday  life.  One  of  these 
legends — Dantesque  in  its  grim  materiality — tells 
how  the  souls  of  men  and  women  are  imprisoned 
for  a  time  in  the  Aletsch  glacier,  and  how,  if  you 
walk  over  it,  you  cannot  help  treading  upon  the 
ice-bound  spirits,  and  so  making  them  suffer  the 
more  for  the  sins  done  in  the  flesh. 

Although  the  people  of  Valais  form  one  of  the 
central  units  of  the  Confederation,  and  are  true 
and  patriotic  to  the  Federal  idea,  yet  they  are, 
to  a  certain  extent,  a  people  apart.  What  is  said 
of  them  may  with  still  greater  truth  be  said  of  the 
Tessinese.  They  are  Swiss  in  the  political  sense 
to  the  backbone,  and  though  Italian  in  language 
and  by  descent,  would  not  change  their  national- 
ity for  that  of  Italy  at  any  price.  This  feeling 
of  Swiss  citizenship,  however,  is  a  thing  of  com- 
paratively recent  growth.  Nor  can  one  wonder. 
Until  1798,  Tessin  was  a  subject  State,  with  few 


144         '  Swiss  Life 

of  those  influences  at  work  which  so  mould  and 
weld  communities  together  as  to  make  them  a 
compact  whole. 

Even  when,  in  the  year  named,  they  received 
their  independence  and  became  part  of  the  Hel- 
vetic Republic,  they  were  slow  to  become  Swiss 
at  heart.  Besides  being  Italian  in  sentiment  and 
tradition,  with  all  that  instinctive  love  of  art 
which  is  so  essentially  Italian,  they  were  divided 
from  the  rest  of  Switzerland  by  a  range  of  tower- 
ing mountains  and  a  barrier  of  language  almost 
as  great.  Still,  in  the  course  of  the  century  just 
closed,  the  barriers  became  gradually  less  and  less 
bars  to  communication  and  progress,  and  finally 
two  events  conspired,  if  not  wholly  to  assimilate 
the  Tessinese  with  their  Swiss  compatriots,  at 
least  to  imbue  them  thoroughly  with  the  Swiss 
idea.  Those  events  were  the  constitutional  re- 
vision of  1874  and  the  opening  of  the  St.  Gothard 
railway.  The  latter  especially  has  been  nothing 
less  than  a  godsend  to  Tessin.  It  has  brought  it 
movement,  stir,  life,  and  not  a  little  wealth  —  all 
things  which  were  greatly  needed  by  these  dis- 
persed and  emotional  people. 

Possibly  in  the  end  these  influences  may  tend 
to  produce  greater  unity,  and,  I  may  add,  tran- 
quillity. Of  these  at  present  there  is  little  evi- 
dence, and  the  fact  is  hurtful  in  many  ways. 
Although  the  canton  is  not  a  large  one,  it  numbers 
two  hundred  and  sixty-three  communes.  This, 
among  other  elements  of  disunion,  tends  to  make 


Cantonal  Life  and  Character     145 

the  popular  life  a  troubled  one.  There  is  no 
centre  with  attractions  sufficiently  strong  to  draw 
the  warring  and  divergent  elements  together,  and 
so  to  help  to  mould  them  into  one  type.  Hence 
there  is  little  of  that  quietude  of  life  which  makes 
for  the  best  interests  and  the  highest  development 
of  a  community.  The  ripest  intellect  of  the  can- 
ton is  absorbed  in  politics,  and  its  chief  literary 
energies  are  spent  in  journalism.  Tessin,  with 
a  population  of  not  more  than  142,719,  possesses 
no  fewer  than  six  daily  newspapers  and  three 
weekly  ones,  to  say  nothing  of  other  publications, 
all  more  or  less  given  to  politics. 

It  is  probably — to  some  extent  at  least — this 
lack  of  cohesion  among  the  Tessinese,  combined 
with  the  prevailing  poverty,  that  makes  the  deni- 
zen of  these  southern  slopes  and  smiling  valleys 
of  the  Alps  so  much  a  wanderer.  The  world  over, 
the  Tessinese  is  found  a  willing  worker,  toiling 
for  his  bread,  but  toiling  still  more  for  the 
wherewithal  to  return,  ere  the  closing  days  of 
life,  to  his  beloved  home  among  the  vine-clad 
terraces  and  the  chestnut  groves  of  the  sunny 
Ticino.  In  London,  Paris,  New  York,  in  al- 
most every  capital,  he  is  to  be  met  with  as 
cafe  or  restaurant  keeper,  as  waiter,  as  worker 
in  various  arts  and  crafts  ;  I  have  met  him,  and 
his  sister  too,  as  models,  in  London  and  other 
studios.  Ever  diligent,  almost  invariably  polite 
and  agreeable,  he  very  often  manages  to  lay  by 
enough  to  enable  him  to  spend  the  afternoon  of 


10 


14^  Swiss  Life 

his  days  literally  under  his  own  "  vine  and  fig 
tree." 

It  is  a  small  matter  that  satisfies  these  men 
generally — a  wee  cottage,  a  little  bit  of  land,  with 
a  cow  or  two  or  a  few  goats  ;  and  you  may  see 
them,  these  returned  wanderers,  enjoying  the 
aftermath  of  life  not  only  in  Tessin,  but  in  Grau- 
biinden  also.  But  here  and  there,  too,  among 
the  little  brown  Alpine  villages,  perched  like 
eagles'  nests  upon  lofty,  wind-kissed  terraces, 
you  will  see,  looking  down  proudly  from  amid 
their  sheltering  foliage,  the  gleaming  palatial 
residences  of  Tessinese  who  have  made  a  com- 
fortable fortune  abroad,  and  have  returned,  they, 
too,  to  enjoy  it  in  ease  and  comfort  among  their 
own  folk. 

I  have  known  several  such.  Years  ago,  in  a 
small  Fleet  Street  cafe,  well  known  of  newspaper 
men,  there  used  to  be  a  little  round-faced  *'  pa- 
drone ' '  who  was  never  so  pleased  as  when  he 
could  put  upon  his  table  a  luncheon  or  a  supper 
that  pleased  his  guest.  He  was  great  at  salads, 
and  for  those  who  liked  the  tang  of  it  he  had  a 
special  wine,  which  he  was  proud  to  say  was 
grown  by  his  own  brother  in  their  home  vale. 
But  the  day  came  when  with  delighted  counten- 
ance he  told  me  he  had  sold  his  business,  and 
was  going  to  join  his  brother  in  that  far-away 
Alpine  valley,  there  to  spend  the  remainder  of 
his  days  among  the  mulberry  trees  and  the  vines. 
Years  afterwards  I  chanced  upon  this  man,  as 


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Cantonal  Life  and  Character     147 

brown  as  a  chestnut,  in  his  own  fair  land.  The 
fortune  he  had  gone  back  with  was  not  great,  but 
it  was  enough. 

Not  so  happy  was  a  couple  I  used  to  know  in 
the  Old  Court  suburb,  they,  too,  the  striving 
keepers  of  a  cafe.  Jean  saved  enough  to  take 
over  the  business,  and  as  he  wanted  a  help- 
mate, he  sent  for  his  fiancee,  who  had  waited 
several  years  for  him.  She  travelled  all  the  way 
alone,  they  were  married,  and  lived  as  happily 
together  as  a  pair  of  turtle-doves.  The  business, 
however,  proved  a  failure  ;  Jean  had  to  take  to 
waiting  again.  The  little  wife  helped  the  7nenage 
by  occasionally  sitting  as  a  model  ;  but  though 
the  two  talked  of  returning  one  day  to  sunny 
Tessin,  it  is  to  be  feared  that,  if  they  got  back, 
it  was  not  with  much  of  a  competence. 

As  I  have  said,  similar  little  homesteads  and 
villas,  the  eventide  homes  of  natives  who  have 
made  their  little  *'pile"  abroad,  may  be  met 
with  in  the  Graubiinden  vales,  especially  in  the 
valleys  of  the  Vorder  and  Hinter  Rhein  and  in 
the  Kngadine.  The  Engadine  is,  indeed,  noted 
in  this  respect.  Owing  to  its  great  altitude,  its 
climate  is  severe  and  its  produce  restricted  ;  and 
yet  for  so  elevated  a  region  it  is  thickly  popu- 
lated. Sturdy  and  well-to-do,  also,  are  its  people, 
albeit  not  so  much  from  what  they  make  at  home, 
as  from  the  wealth  accumulated  by  their  sons 
abroad,  the  young  men,  as  a  rule,  leaving  their 
native  valleys  early,  and  finding  places  all  over 


14^  Swiss  Life 

Kurope,  much  in  the  same  way  as  the  Tessinese. 
They  go  into  the  smaller  branches  of  trade,  and 
as  cooks,  confectioners,  chocolate  vendors,  and  the 
like,  acquire  small  independences,  which,  when 
the  joyful  day  of  return  comes,  are  drawn  upon 
for  the  erection  of  those  striking  abodes  which 
may  be  seen  all  over  the  Engadine — abodes  which 
are  of  more  ample  dimensions  than  they  otherwise 
would  be  because  the  cattle  have  to  be  thought 
of  as  well  as  the  human  members  of  the  family. 
This  to  the  outland  eye  makes  them,  together 
with  their  decorations  of  whitewash,  gilding,  etc., 
somewhat  pretentious  looking.  They  become 
less  "imposing,"  however,  when  we  know  that 
they  frequently  comprise  under  the  same  roof 
cowshed,  barn,  and  perhaps  stable  to  boot  ;  for 
those  who  stay  at  home  are  chiefly  engaged  with 
their  cattle,  and,  as  the  summer  is  short,  the 
stock  have  to  be  kept  indoors  during  the  seven 
or  eight  months  of  winter.  The  hay  is  cut  about 
the  middle  of  July,  the  cattle  feed  on  the  grass 
until  winter  sets  in,  when  it  is  again,  for  the 
season  of  the  snows,  "the  closed  door"  and 
weather- tight  shelter  for  all. 

Most  of  the  people  of  the  Engadine — all,  I  be- 
lieve, except  those  of  the  village  of  Tarasp — are 
Protestant,  a  religion  for  which  they  fought  and 
suffered  much  in  earlier  days.  In  the  Lower 
Engadine  this  was  especially  the  case,  and  con- 
nected therewith  is  the  interesting  survival  of  the 
ancient  costume  of  the  country  to  be  met  with  in 


Cantonal  Life  and  Character     149 

this  valley  alone  of  the  whole  of  Graubiinden. 
The  circumstance  is  associated  with  the  struggle 
against  Austria  for  the  maintenance  of  their  re- 
ligion ;  the  women  having  taken  a  vow  that,  if 
Heaven  would  give  their  fathers  and  husbands 
the  victory  in  1499,  they  would  ever  after  con- 
tinue to  wear  their  dark  and  somewhat  severe 
style  of  dress.  It  speaks  much  for  the  solidity  of 
character  possessed  by  these  people  that  they 
have  remembered  their  parents'  vow  and  kept  it 
so  long. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  Engadine  speak  Ladin 
(i.  e.,  Latin),  one  of  the  two  leading  dialects  of 
Romansch,  and  are  held  in  very  high  repute  for 
their  general  honesty  and  good  moral  character. 
This,  no  doubt,  has  much  to  do  with  the  prevail- 
ing prosperity.  In  other  parts  of  the  Grisons, 
but  more  particularly  in  the  district  of  the  Vorder 
Rhein,  there  is  a  strange  mix-up  of  religion,  as 
also  of  language.  Hardly  two  villages  can  be 
found  together  that  speak  the  same  language  or 
profess  the  same  religion.  However,  generally 
speaking,  where  German  is  spoken  the  people  are 
Protestant,  whilst  if  they  patter  Romansch  they 
are  most  likely  to  be  Roman  Catholic.  In  the 
district  of  the  Hinter  Rhein,  German  is  the  lan- 
guage of  the  people,  and  they  are  Protestant. 

The  whole  of  this  district  of  the  Vorder  and 
Hinter  Rhein  is  rich  in  folk-lore  and  legend. 
Among  the  valleys  of  the  Silvretta  range  in  par- 
ticular the  people  are  noted  for  their  wealth  of 


150  Swiss  Life 

old-world  talk  of  this  description.  Many  of  their 
most  characteristic  stories  relate  to  a  fairy  people 
known  as  the  Fenken,  the  tales  of  whose  strange 
lives  and  wonderful  doings  enliven  many  a  winter 
night  and  summer  eve.  Foremost  among  the 
beings  who  figure  in  these  veracious  narratives 
is  the  beautiful  maiden  Madrisa,  who  has  given 
her  name  to  the  peak  known  as  the  Madrisahorn, 
as  w^ell  as  to  other  spots  around  which  centre 
legends  of  her  doings. 

One  of  these  stories  is  to  the  effect  that  Madrisa 
fell  in  love  with  a  beautiful  mountain  stream. 
She  was  never  so  happy  as  when  seated  by  its 
side,  listening  to  the  music  it  sang  to  her,  and 
gazing  on  the  entrancing  form  which  smiled  on 
her  when  she  looked  into  its  depths.  This  was 
the  beautiful  spirit  of  the  stream,  which  was 
never  far  away  except  in  the  dark  w^eather.  But 
anon  winter  came  and  imprisoned  with  its  icy 
shackles  the  tender,  music-loving  spirit.  Then 
Madrisa  could  not  see  her  beloved  ;  she  could 
only  hear  him  moan  in  his  deep  distress.  But 
they  agreed  that,  if  he  ever  got  free  from  his  toils, 
they  would  hasten  away  together  to  happier  lands 
— lands  which  the  gentle  winds  sometimes  told 
them  of.  At  length  the  spring  came,  and  Madrisa 
beheld  her  beautiful  lover  again.  Then  they  de- 
cided to  go  at  once  to  the  happy  lands  whereof 
the  winds  spoke,  and  there  marry  and  be  happy 
ever  afterwards.  But,  sooth  to  say,  they  had  not 
gone  more  than  a  couple  of  days'  journey,  ere 


Cantonal  Life  and  Character     151 

Madrisa's  lover  got  so  mixed  up  with  other 
streams,  and  his  waters  became  so  clouded,  that 
she  could  no  longer  see  his  face  in  them.  His 
voice,  too,  was  no  longer  what  it  had  been,  but 
sad  and  mournful,  and  full,  as  it  were,  of  the  talk 
of  terrors  and  mvsteries  to  come.  Then  said 
Madrisa,  in  her  keen  dread,  *'  O  beloved,  let  us 
go  back  to  our  mountain  home,  to  its  little  wa5^s 
and  delightful  tunes,  and  if  we  can't  be  as  happy 
as  we  would  be,  we  will  be  as  happy  as  we  can. 
Come,  love  !  "  So  they  went  back.  And  still 
Madrisa  sees  her  beloved  in  the  summer  season, 
and  hears  his  voice,  and  though  she  grieves  when 
winter  comes  with  its  dark  daj'S  and  iron  grip,  it 
consoles  her  to  think,  "  Perhaps  I  am  happier 
and  nearer  to  him  than  I  dream.  Perhaps  it  is 
the  longing  that  makes  the  loving."  Wise  little 
Madrisa  ! 


CHAPTER  XI 


SWISS   WOMEN   AND   SWISS   HOMES 


SWISS  women,  as  a  rule,  are  of  medium 
height,  stoutly  built,  and  plain  in  appear- 
ance rather  than  handsome.  To  comparatively 
few,  indeed,  can  the  latter  epithet  be  applied, 
although  when  young  some  of  the  girls  are  cer- 
tainly pretty,  a  few  beautiful.  These  last  are 
generally  the  daughters  of  well-to-do  burghers, 
who  have  brought  their  daughters  up  in  fair  ease 
and  comfort.  Not  unfrequently  they  are  the  off- 
spring of  foreign  mothers,  French,  German,  or 
Knglish.  The  reason  for  this  general  plainness 
of  type  is  doubtless  the  terrible  hardness  of  the 
life  lived  by  the  Swiss  women  in  the  past.  Mat- 
ters have  improved  greatly  in  this  respect  in 
modern  times,  but  their  life  is  still,  for  all  but 
the  fairly  affluent,  one  of  continuous  toil,  descend- 
ing often  to  day-long  drudgery.  This  is  especially 
the  case  in  those  parts  of  the  country  devoted  to 
husbandry  and  rural  pursuits,  where  no  factory 
law  can  come  in,  and  where,  in  addition  to  the 
labour  which  naturally  falls  to  the  woman,  the 
climatic  conditions  of  life  are  extremely  severe. 

152 


Swiss  Women  and  Swiss  Homes  153 

One  need  not  wonder,  therefore,  that  so  few 
really  handsome  native  women  are  seen  in  Swit- 
zerland. The  peculiarity  is  so  marked  and  so 
common  that  if  a  beautiful  woman  makes  her  ap- 
pearance she  is  almost  invariably  taken  to  be 
either  English  or  American — Americaine  is  the 
more  general  guess.  I  never  met  with  an  excep- 
tion to  this  rule  of  attributing  feminine  beauty  to 
a  stranger  in  preference  to  a  native  when  there 
was  any  possibility  of  doubt. 

The  Swiss  themselves  do  not  hesitate  to 
acknowledge  that  their  women  are  not  as  a  rule 
ravissajite  in  respect  to  physical  attractions  ; 
but  they  are  aware  that  good  looks  are  not 
everything,  that  charm  may  dwell  along  with  a 
very  plain  exterior,  and  that  all  the  qualities 
that  are  best  and  most  lovable  in  a  woman  are 
much  more  than  "  skin-deep."  And  it  is  just 
in  these  attributes  that  the  Swiss  woman  shines 
most.  Few  make  more  devoted  wives  and 
mothers,  few  better  keepers  of  the  home  and 
hearth.  Whether  we  take  the  Switzerland  of 
east  or  west,  the  old  German  cantons  or  the 
Wulsch  (as  the  French-speaking  parts  are  often 
designated),  we  find  them  much  the  same.  The 
one  ideal  of  duty  prevails.  The  Swiss  woman's 
place  is  in  her  home,  and  there  she  lives  and 
works.  Often  enough  her  devotion  is  too  absorb- 
ing, and  she  suffers  in  health  in  consequence. 
That  is  why  so  many  are  pale  and  sickly  looking. 
Not  only  have  they  the  care  of  the  children  and 


154  Swiss  Life 

of  the  house,  but  frequently  they  must  aid  besides 
in  the  bread-winning  by  carrying  on  some  special 
handicraft,  such  as  lace-making,  embroidery, 
weaving,  and  the  like. 

To  this  circumstance  may  doubtless  be  attri- 
buted the  fact  —  if  we  may  believe  Elisee  Reclus 
— that  the  infirm  of  body  and  mind,  with  the 
exception  of  the  blind,  are  more  numerous  in 
Switzerland  than  in  the  neighbouring  countries, 
and  that  more  than  half  the  young  men  examined 
for  military  service  are  declared  to  be  unfit. 
Even  the  universal  prevalence  of  the  school- 
master has  not  changed  this  condition  of  things, 
for  still  in  Switzerland,  as  with  us,  the  school 
often  fails  to  concern  itself  with  those  things 
that  have  most  to  do  with  daily  life  and  duties. 
However,  things  are  improving;  shorter  hours 
are  being  enforced  in  factories,  no  woman  is 
allowed  to  do  night  work,  and  girls,  by  being 
kept  compulsorily  at  school  until  they  are  fairly 
well  into  their  teens,  are  given  a  better  chance 
for  growth  and  building  up  constitution  than 
their  mothers  enjoyed.  H3^giene,  too  is  being 
better  attended  to  and  taught. 

Still,  on  the  whole,  the  life  of  the  Swiss  women, 
whether  in  the  town  or  in  the  remote  mountain 
villages,  is  not  an  unhappy  one.  They  have 
their  share  in  all  the  rejoicings  that  occur  from 
time  to  time  ;  they  have  their  church-goings  and 
their  home  and  family  gatherings;  and  if  they  do 
not  often,  when  married,  go  gadding  to  fair  or 


Swiss  Women  and  Swiss  Homes  155 

market,  and  less  still  to  the  dance,  as  was  their 
wont  before  marriage,  they  have  the  recollection 
of  the  days  when  they  did,  and  therewith  are, 
perforce,  content. 

There  is  a  homely  proverb  current  in  some 
parts  of  Switzerland  to  the  effect  that  the  glad 
times  come  in  the  May  mornings.  It  signifies, 
as  they  say  in  Yorkshire,  that  "  the  May-day  of 
life  is  the  hey-day  of  life,"  and  certainly  the  Swiss 
girls  know  how  to  make  the  most  of  their  May 
days.  With  them  —  in  the  more  rural  cantons 
especially  —  life  is  very  much  one  long  round  of 
pleasure.  Not  that  they  are  always  at  dances  or 
on  parties  of  pleasure.  But  the  Swiss  girl  is,  as 
a  rule,  full  of  life,  full  of  hope,  and  so  light  of 
heart  that  the  remembrance  of  one  merry-making 
easily  carries  her  over  a  passable  interval  to  the 
next. 

Song  and  the  dance — these  are  the  joy-mates 
of  the  Swiss.  Nothing  rejoices  them  like  music, 
the  music  of  the  voice  in  especial  ;  and  when  the 
heart  is  young  and  the  limbs  still  supple,  it  is 
very  apt  to  put  the  rhythm  of  its  desire  into  both, 
and  bid  them  beat  to  its  law.  Dancing  is  very 
popular  throughout  Switzerland,  alike  in  town 
and  village,  in  the  Protestant  cantons  as  in  the 
Catholic.  Among  the  stricter  Protestant  folk, 
however,  there  has  always  been,  and  is  still,  a 
moral  objection  to  dancing,  and  especially  to 
public  balls.  Family  life  is  stricter,  and  the 
social  relations  of  the  sexes  are  perhaps  on  a 


156  Swiss  Life 

higher  level.  It  is  common,  for  instance,  in  some 
parts  for  young  men  and  women  to  meet  at  tav- 
erns to  dance  and  hear  music;  but  the  practice  is 
looked  upon  with  little  tolerance  by  Protestants, 
and,  I  must  add,  by  many  Catholics — so  much  so 
that  in  some  cantons  the  law  carefully  restricts 
the  number  of  dances  that  may  be  held,  and 
these  are  confined,  for  the  most  part,  to  public 
holidays. 

Even  in  backward  Appenzell-inner-Rhoden  a 
severe  restriction  is  put  upon  the  number  of  balls 
which  may  be  given  in  the  village  tavern,  and 
girls  under  twenty  may  not  attend  them.  These 
peasant-dances  are  very  characteristic,  and  any- 
one who  wishes  to  see  something  very  primitive 
cannot  do  better  than  obtain  admission  to  the 
village  tavern  on  the  occasion  of  a  wedding  feast. 
It  is  usually  a  somewhat  clownish  affair,  and  at 
first  anything  but  enlivening.  The  young  men 
and  maidens  sit  on  opposite  sides  of  the  room, 
the  young  men  in  what  they  have  of  best  as  re- 
gards clothing,  and  not  unusually  with  pipe  in 
mouth,  the  young  women  in  the  dainty  and 
picturesque  costume  of  the  district.  The  music 
is  almost  invariably  supplied  by  a  violin  or  two, 
with  the  accompaniment  of  a  Hackbrett — i.  e.,  an 
instrument  resembling  a  zither,  played  with  two 
light  sticks.  When  the  instruments  strike  up, 
the  young  men  advance  across  the  room  and  lead 
out  partners,  but  it  is  often  some  time  before  the 
dancing  becomes  general.     Moreover,  there  is  an 


Swiss  Women  and  Swiss  Homes  157 

unwritten  law  that  everything  should  be  con- 
ducted in  a  very  quiet  and  orderly  manner  until 
after  a  certain  hour, — it  may  be  eight  or  nine, — 
but  after  that  the  fun  becomes  liv^elier,  and  not  a 
little  noisier.  The  staid  tripping  and  turning  of 
the  girls,  the  jumping  and  heel- thumping  of  the 
men, — for  it  is  often  little  else, — are  then  varied 
by  hand-clapping  and  **  jodelling,"  and  by  other 
manifestations  of  high  spirits  and  enjoyment. 
All  this  must  cease,  however,  at  eleven  o'clock. 

Appenzell-inner-Rhoden,  as  has  been  already 
said,  is  accounted  one  of  the  more  uncultured 
centres  of  Switzerland,  and  it  may  be  that  the 
young  women  on  that  account  enjoy  greater  free- 
dom in  their  intercourse  with  the  opposite  sex 
than  their  sisters  in  other  cantons.  It  is  gener- 
ally at  these  gatherings  at  the  taverns  that  they 
make  those  acquaintances  with  5^oung  men  which 
result  in  marriage.  There  is  little  opportunity 
of  doing  so  at  home,  the  life  there  being  very 
narrow  and  secluded.  Company  is  seldom  re- 
ceived, and  visits  of  any  kind,  except  from  mem- 
bers of  the  family,  are  an  extreme  rarity.  I  have 
heard  it  said  that  by  some  of  the  peasantry — and 
in  other  parts  besides  Appenzell  —  it  is  looked 
upon  as  an  insult  to  call  upon  a  man  at  his  home. 
Men  make  appointments  with  each  other  at  the 
inn,  and  then  over  their  stoup  of  wine  or  other 
liquor  and  a  pipe  they  have  their  talk  on  what- 
ever may  be  the  object  of  the  meeting. 

It  is  this  inaccessibility  of  the  home  among  the 


15^  Swiss  Life 

poorer  folk  generally  that  has  doubtless  led  to 
so  much  tavern-haunting  by  the  young  men 
throughout  Switzerland,  and  with  such  terrible 
results  that  some  fifteen  years  ago  it  was  found 
necessary  to  take  measures  with  a  view  to  re- 
strict the  manufacture  of  alcohol.  There  was  a 
time  when  the  wine  of  the  country  was  almost  the 
sole  drink  of  the  Swiss.  But  gradually  the  taste 
for  beer,  introduced  by  German  refugees,  spread 
among  the  people,  and  drunkenness  is  now,  un- 
fortunately, one  of  the  worst  sins  of  the  country. 
As  in  England,  the  temperance  crusade  began  as 
early  as  1830  ;  but  it  was  not  until  the  matter 
was  taken  in  hand  by  the  Federal  authorities  that 
much  progress  was  made  towards  checking  the 
evil.  It  would  not  appear  as  though  a  great  deal 
had  been  done  even  yet  when  it  is  considered  that 
the  consumption  of  alcoholic  beverages  stands  at 
no  francs  (;^4  Ss.)  per  head  of  the  population  per 
annum.  But,  say  those  who  are  supposed  to 
know  best,  there  is  a  slow  but  sure  improvement 
taking  place  all  over  the  country,  which  is  a  good 
thing  to  hear. 

It  may  be  noted  here  that,  while  the  Swiss 
took  their  habit  of  beer-drinking  from  the  Ger- 
man, they  failed  to  introduce  with  it  his  love  of  a 
beer-garden.  The  uninitiate  may  think  that 
there  cannot  be  much  difference  between  drink- 
ing beer  in  a  garden  and  in  a  pot-house  ;  but 
there  is  in  truth  all  the  difference  in  the  world. 
Seated  in  the  open  air  a  man  is  not  stimulated  to 


Swiss  Women  and  Swiss  Homes  159 

drink  as  much  as  he  is  when  shut  up  between 
four  walls  in  an  atmosphere  almost  stifling  with 
tobacco-smoke.  Nothing  creates  thirst  like  to- 
bacco, and  when  a  person  is  breathing  it  in  such 
volumes  as  he  must  do  when  confined  to  a  room 
where  perhaps  twenty  are  smoking,  the  provoca- 
tion to  thirst  is  almost,  if  not  more  than,  doubled. 

There  is  nothing  like  the  same  unwholesome 
stimulus  to  thirst  when  a  man  enjoys  his  Schoppe 
and  his  pipe  in  the  open  air.  Moreover,  there  is 
another  circumstance  connected  with  the  beer- 
garden,  as  the  German  knows  it,  which  works  in 
favour  of  sobriety.  It  is  a  public  place,  to  which 
men  and  women  alike  resort,  to  which  a  man  will 
even  take  his  family,  and  hence  anything  like 
inebriety  or  bad  manners  is  at  once  checked.  In 
short,  evil  habits  and  vicious  behaviour  cannot 
thrive  under  the  public  eye  as  they  do  in  hidden 
corners  and  secret  places.  This  is  no  plea  for 
beer-gardens,  however  —  it  is  simply  a  statement 
of  fact ;  to  which  may  be  added  the  opinion  which 
may,  perhaps,  have  been  formed  on  insufficient 
experience,  but  which  I  am  not  alone  in  enter- 
taining, that  the  German-Swiss  workman  is  not, 
as  a  rule,  so  well  behaved  and  polite  in  public  as 
his  German  compeer. 

Perhaps  republican  manners  go  for  something 
in  this  matter,  though  I  doubt  whether  that  is 
the  source  of  the  difference.  I  am  more  inclined 
to  think  that  it  arises  in  part  from  the  fact  that 
popular  education  was  a  later  acquisition  in  the 


i6o  Swiss  Life 

Confederation,  and  in  part  from  the  so  prevalent 
habit,  to  which  I  have  referred,  of  the  young  men 
— and  the  old,  too,  for  the  matter  of  that — making 
the  tavern  their  place  of  nightly  resort.  How 
much  family  life  suffers  in  consequence  is  only 
too  patent.  The  refining  influence  of  the  home 
circle  is  too  often  conspicuous  by  its  absence,  and 
not  only  do  the  young  men,  but  the  young  wo- 
men also,  suffer  as  the  result.  One  effect  of  this 
lack — a  small  matter,  perhaps,  albeit  significant 
—  is  the  often-commented-on  sans  gene  endear- 
ments of  Swiss  lovers  of  the  peasant  and  artisan 
classes,  who  frequently  appear  to  select  the  most 
public  places  for  their  toyings  and  caressings. 

In  some  cantons  there  is  a  far  freer  and  more 
enjoyable  home  life  than  in  others;  visits  are  paid 
and  received,  and  there  is  much  going  and  coming 
between  families.  In  the  Forest  Cantons  there 
are  many  home-gatherings,  such  as  in  America 
would  be  called  '*  bees  " — gatherings  for  shelling 
walnuts,  which  take  place  in  succession  at  differ- 
ent houses  ;  evening  parties  for  getting  ready  the 
trousseau  of  the  girl  about  to  be  married,  and  so  on. 

Marriage  customs  vary  in  different  parts  of  the 
country,  and  to  describe  them  all  in  detail  would 
occupy  more  space  than  is  at  disposal.  Essen- 
tially, all  marriages  are  the  same  in  one  respect, 
for  the  law,  regarding  the  marriage  contract  as  a 
civil  one,  requires  it  to  be  performed  by  a  magis- 
trate. With  some  this  is  all  the  ceremony  that 
is  gone  through,  though  it  is  followed  by  the 


Swiss  Women  and  Swiss  Homes  i6i 

usual  feasting  and  merry-making.  Such  cases, 
however,  are  the  exception  rather  than  the  rule, 
the  majority  of  couples,  whether  Protestant  or 
Catholic,  electing  to  add  a  religious  consecration 
to  the  civil  ceremony.  Usually,  among  Protest- 
ants, the  one  follows  immediately  after  the  other, 
the  couple,  with  their  friends,  proceeding  from 
the  mairie  direct  to  the  church.  The  day  is  filled 
up  with  feasting  and  a  dance,  and  the  newly 
married  pair  either  adjourn  to  their  new  home  or 
go  for  a  short  wedding-trip. 

In  the  Catholic  cantons,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
ceremonial  is  often  spread  over  a  longer  period. 
In  Appenzell  and  Schwyz,  for  instance,  a  mar- 
riage celebration  usually  extends  over  three  days. 
Saturday  is  very  commonly  selected  for  the  civil 
ceremony.  On  Sunday  the  couple  go  to  confes- 
sion, receive  communion,  and  hear  mass  ;  then, 
on  Monday,  is  celebrated  the  religious  rite.  This 
is  followed,  in  the  case  of  all  but  the  elite, — if  one 
may  speak  of  anyone  under  that  head  in  these 
peasant  cantons, — by  a  dance  at  the  tavern,  at 
which,  generally,  there  is  much  wine-drinking. 
It  is  usually  the  wine  of  the  country,  or  cider^ 
which  is  much  drunk  in  East  Switzerland,  where, 
in  many  parts,  it  still  remains  the  household  bev- 
erage. It  is,  as  a  rule,  very  wholesome,  relieves 
thirst  quickly,  and  creates  no  false  appetite. 
What  does  the  mischief  in  the  country  is  not  so 
much  these  drinks  as  the  schnapps,  t\iQ  petit  verve 
of  the  French  cantons,    to  which  peasant  and 

zx 


1 62  Swiss  Life 

artisan  alike  are  so  greatly  addicted,  and  in  many 
parts  with  such  deplorable  results.  What  this 
"sipping"  means  in  the  aggregate  may  be 
gathered  from  the  fact  that  the  consumption  of 
spirits  per  head  per  annum  is  six  litres  (nearly  a 
gallon  and  a  half). 

There  are  several  features  in  the  Federal  law 
regarding  marriage  which  are  worthy  of  note. 
One  is  that  no  impediment  can  be  put  in  the  way 
of  marriage  on  the  ground  of  religion,  the  poverty 
of  one  or  other  of  the  parties  interested,  the 
alleged  misconduct  of  either,  or  for  any  other 
cause.  This  law  was  rendered  necessary  because, 
prior  to  the  revisions  of  1848  and  1874,  the  Church 
on  the  one  hand,  and  the  communal  authorities 
on  the  other,  frequently  stepped  in  to  prevent  and 
interfere  with  the  right  of  marriage.  The  Catho- 
lic Church  declared  "  mixed  "  marriages — that  is, 
the  marriage  of  a  Protestant  with  a  Catholic — as 
null  and  void,  and  the  offspring  of  such  unions 
as  illegitimate ;  while  communes  refused  to  allow 
very  poor  persons  to  marry,  because  they  were 
afraid  their  children  might  become  a  charge  on 
the  parish.  By  her  marriage  a  woman  now  ac- 
quires the  rights  of  citizenship  enjoyed  by  her 
husband.  The  Federal  law  permits  divorce  for — 
besides  the  usual  reason  —  cruelty  and  inhuman 
conduct,  conviction  of  crime,  desertion  for  two 
years,  and  for  incurable  insanity.  There  are 
fewer  divorces  in  the  Catholic  than  in  the  Pro- 
testant cantons.     That  does  not  sa}^  of  course, 


Swiss  Women  and  Swiss  Homes  163 

that  there  are  fewer  causes  for  unhappy  marriage 
in  the  one  case  than  the  other,  but  simply  that 
the  Catholic  Church  refuses  to  allow  its  faithful 
sons  and  daughters  to  seek  legal  relief  from 
wedded  misery. 

All  who  have  visited  Switzerland  must  have 
been  struck  with  the  very  beautiful  and  com- 
modious peasant  houses  to  be  met  with  in  many 
parts.  In  the  poorer  districts  there  are  some  very 
miserable  wooden  shanties,  little,  if  at  all,  better 
than  those  existing  in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland 
and  in  Ireland  ;  but  in  the  more  fertile  valleys  of 
Berne,  Lucerne,  Unterwalden,  and  the  other 
Forest  Cantons  there  are  dwellings  which  are  not 
only  a  picture  without,  but  all  that  is  pleasing 
and  convenient  within.  In  the  building  of  these 
houses  no  invariable  rule  is  followed  ;  but  in  the 
villages  they  are  generally  constructed  very 
solidly  of  stone  to  a  height  of  six  or  eight  feet. 
Upon  this  foundation  the  upper  structure  of  wood 
is  raised.  In  the  lower  part  are  commodious  cell- 
ars for  storage  purposes  ;  above  them,  in  front, 
are  the  living-  and  bed-rooms  ;  behind  are  the 
kitchen,  dairy,  threshing-floor,  stables,  etc.  On 
either  side  of  the  upper  floor  is  an  outer  gallery, 
which  in  some  districts  runs  quite  round  the 
house.  The  roof  in  front  generally  projects  very 
considerably,  but  to  a  much  less  extent  at  the 
back  and  sides.  The  roof  is  of  tiles  in  more 
modern  houses,  in  the  older  ones  of  pine-shingles 
weighted  with  large  stones. 


164  Swiss  Life 

The  rooms  on  the  first  floor  of  these  houses 
usually  comprise  the  chief  living-room,  a  smaller 
room,  or  * '  parlour, ' '  and  the  best  bed-room.  The 
parlour  is  used  only  on  special  occasions.  In  it, 
of  course,  are  placed  the  best  furniture  and  such 
objects  as  constitute  the  household  treasures.  In 
Catholic  families — and  in  these  mountain  districts 
nearly  all  are  such  —  a  crucifix  is  never  wanting. 
Equally  prominent  on  the  panelled  walls  will  be 
the  pictures  of  one  or  two  saints,  interspersed, 
perhaps,  in  the  better  families  with  a  few  family 
portraits.  A  clock,  likely  enough  made  in  the 
Black  Forest,  is  rarely  absent  ;  still  more  rarely 
the  vase  of  holy  water  by  the  door,  for  here  the 
family  assembles  for  its  devotional  exercises,  as 
well  as  for  conference  on  matters  of  moment. 
In  some  villages  much  attention  is  given  to  the 
external  adornment  of  the  houses  and  to  the  cult- 
ivation of  flowers,  not  only  in  the  garden-space 
about  the  house,  but  on  the  ledges  of  the  win- 
dows. It  is  rare  to  see  one  of  these  houses  with- 
out its  pear-tree  trained  up  the  front,  or,  in  the 
warmer  districts,  its  vine.  The  cultivation  of 
fruit,  especially  apples  and  pears,  is  particularly 
cared  for.  When  ripe,  it  is  the  duty  of  the 
women  to  quarter  these  fruits  and  dry  them  for 
winter  use.  Every  house  is  provided  with  a 
store,  which  forms  an  important  item  in  the 
family  provender. 

The  people  in  the  more  pastoral  districts  gener- 
ally live  very  simply.     Even  in  well-to-do  families 


Swiss  Women  and  Swiss  Homes  165 

meat  is  rarely  put  on  the  table,  save  at  times  of 
festivity,  or  on  the  occasion  of  friendly  visits, 
when  there  will  not  infrequently  be  a  lavish  dis- 
play. Potatoes  form  a  considerable  part  of  the 
daily  fare  ;  with  buttermilk  and  bread  they  often 
constitute  the  midday  meal.  Milk  and  its  pro- 
ducts—  butter,  cheese,  curds,  etc. —  bulk  very 
largely  in  the  daily  dietary  of  the  pastoral  dis- 
tricts. Bread  is  often  replaced  by  dried  fruit  or 
by  curds.  Many  delicious  dishes  are  made  from 
cream.  In  Uri,  sweet  cheese-curds  stewed  in 
cream  and  afterwards  baked  with  fresh  butter 
are  regarded  as  a  great  delicacy  and  much 
esteemed. 

I  have  spoken  elsewhere  of  the  custom  —  more 
honoured  in  the  breach  than  in  the  observance — 
of  the  Kiltgang,  which,  strange  to  say,  is  sanc- 
tioned by  parents.  Closely  connected  therewith 
is  the  Maienstecken  of  Canton  Lucerne.  A  lover, 
anxious  to  do  honour  to  his  inna7norata,  plants 
in  front  of  her  window  a  small  pine-tree  gaily 
adorned  with  ribbons.  A  young  swain  can 
hardly  show  a  greater  proof  of  his  devotion  than 
this,  and  he  generally  finds  his  reward  in  the 
generous  entertainment  he  receives  at  the  hands 
of  both  the  girl  and  her  parents.  Of  a  wholly 
different  significance  is  the  straw  puppet  some- 
times hung  during  the  night  in  front  of  the  win- 
dow of  a  girl  who  is  thought  to  hold  her  head  too 
high,  or  whose  parents  are  supposed  to  be  looking 
for  a  match  for  her  outside  the  village. 


1 66  Swiss  Life 

Reference  has  been  made  elsewhere  to  the  cir- 
cumstance that  here  and  there,  in  out-of-the-way- 
regions,  the  old  Tracht,  or  costume,  of  these  parts 
has  been  retained.  But  everywhere  the  old 
fashions  are  gradually  giving  way.  Even  in  the 
more  conservative  of  the  Forest  Cantons  like 
Unterwalden  and  Schwyz,  little  remains  beyond 
the  distinctive  head-dress  of  the  women.  In  the 
latter  canton  the  girls  wear  a  black  cap,  the  mar- 
ried women  a  white  one.  There  are  in  each  two 
slips  of  upright  lace,  which,  coming  from  behind 
over  the  head,  meet  on  the  forehead  ;  the  whole 
having  the  appearance  of  a  butterfly  with  wings 
half-spread.  Between  these  the  girl's  tresses  are 
puffed  up  and  held  back  by  a  silver  pin,  called  a 
Rosenadel,  from  its  head  resembling  a  partially 
opened  rose.  The  hair  of  the  married  women  is 
treated  in  a  similar  way,  but  is  covered  with  a 
piece  of  richly  embroidered  silk. 

The  old  cantonal  costume  holds  its  own  as 
strongly  in  Catholic  Appenzell  as  perhaps  any- 
where, and,  as  it  is  ver}^  picturesque,  it  is  worth 
a  few  words  of  description.  The  dress  consists  of 
skirt,  bodice,  and  head-dress.  The  skirt  is  of  a 
rather  heavy  material,  black  and  dark  red  in 
colour,  and  is  folded  longitudinally  into  a  num- 
ber of  narrow  pleats.  The  bodice  consists  of 
black  velvet,  and  is  worked  back  and  front  with 
silver  cord.  The  breast,  shoulders,  and  arms  to 
the  elbows  are  clad  in  white.  A  fancy  bonnet, 
with  a  pair  of  black,  semi-circular  wings,  con- 


Swiss  Women  and  Swiss  Homes  167 

stitutes  the  head-dress.  The  wings  are  large, 
and  are  attached  on  each  side  of  the  head.  They 
are  lined  with  a  soft  white  material,  which  is 
brought  to  a  point  over  the  forehead.  The  bon- 
net, worn  at  the  back  of  the  head,  is  usually- 
adorned  with  streamers  of  pink  ribbon.  The 
bonnet  is  often  discarded  for  comfort's  sake,  both 
by  girls  and  married  women,  but  the  wings  never. 
A  good  deal  of  chain-ware  and  jewellery  is  worn 
to  complete  the  costume.  It  must  be  said  that 
the  fashion  suits  the  plump,  blue-eyed,  fair-haired 
daughters   of  Appenzell/ 

But  while  this  and  other  similar  costumes  still 
linger  in  parts,  in  the  towns  and  throughout  the 
country  generally  the  common  dress  of  civilisation 
prevails,  and  there  is  little  to  distinguish  the 
citizen  of  Berne,  Soleure,  or  Geneva  from  the 
strangers  coming  from  London,  Paris,  or  New 
York.  There  is  almost  less  to  differentiate  the 
ladies,  the  Swiss  woman  being  as  well  read  in  the 
fashions  as  most  of  her  Continental  sisters,  and 
equally  knowing  in  the  art  of  showing  off  her 
personal  advantages. 

The  thing  which  strikes  a  newcomer  most  in 
associating  with  Swiss  women  of  the  better  class, 
next,  perhaps,  to  their  plainness,  is  the  more 
general  tone  of  intellectuality  which  prevails 
among  them.  They  can,  as  a  rule,  talk  intelli- 
gently not  only  on  politics,  but  on  matters  of  more 
general  interest — literature,  science,  education, 
^  Pure  Democracy  in  Appenz ell-inner- Rhoden, 


\ 


% 


1 68  Swiss  Life 

and  so  forth.  Education  is  a  favourite  topic. 
This  is,  of  course,  natural  among  a  people  who 
have  played  so  important  a  part  in  what  we  may 
call  the  mission  of  education — among  a  people, 
too,  so  many  of  whose  daughters,  from  necessity 
as  well  as  predilection,  devote  themselves  to  the 
art  of  teaching.  No  country  in  the  world  pro- 
duces better  governesses  than  Switzerland,  and 
though  it  might  seem  invidious  to  say  that  the 
best  come  from  Geneva,  Lausanne,  and  Zurich, 
yet  it  would  be  hard  to  find  more  excellent  ones 
than  hail  from  those  cities.  Some  of  the  worthiest 
women  I  met  in  Switzerland  were  of  the  guild  of 
governesses,  and  among  them  were  many  whom 
it  was  a  pleasure  to  know,  not  only  because  of 
their  sterling  moral  qualities,  but  because  of  their 
good  sense  and  wit  also.  In  Geneva  I  enjoyed  a 
rather  unique  experience.  I  spent  one  winter  in 
2i pension  in  which  the  majority  of  the  guests  were 
governesses,  several  of  them  old  and  superan- 
nuated. Many  times  I  counted  a  dozen  seated 
round  the  table  at  once.  Some  of  them  had  seen 
service  in  England,  others  in  France  and  Russia. 
One,  a  very  ancient  dame,  had  been  for  some 
years  in  the  family  of  Georges  Sand,  and  had 
many  interesting  and  amusing  reminiscences  to 
tell  of  that  talented  woman  and  her  daughter. 

Another  had  been  French  governess  to  the 
children  of  a  Russian  Minister  of  State.  They 
had  at  the  same  time  an  English  governess,  a 
woman  of  great  volubility  and  charm,  who  was 


Swiss  Women  and  Swiss  Homes  169 

much  liked  by  her  employers  because  of  her  uni- 
form high  spirits  and  naive  talk.  The  French 
governess,  however,  had  doubts  about  her  Eng- 
lish, and  gave  a  hint  to  that  effect  to  her  mistress. 
The  latter  reported  it  to  her  husband,  who,  sus- 
pecting that  the  French  governess  was  jealous  of 
her  'English  co?i/re re,  bade  her  not  be  stupid.  He 
had  had  the  most  excellent  recommendations  with 
**  Miss,"  he  said,  and,  besides,  what  should  she, 
a  Swiss,  know  about  English  ?  Mademoiselle 
apologised,  said  she  had  lived  a  little  while  in 
England,  and  thought,  etc.,  etc.,  but  felt  she  had 
been  indiscreet.  So  the  gale  blew  over,  and  the 
children  went  on  quietly  with  their  French  and 
their  English  until  the  following  summer,  when 
an  Englishman  of  some  note,  who  was  touring  in 
Russia,  spent  a  few  days  at  the  country  estate  of 
the  Minister.  The  evening  of  his  arrival,  the 
children,  after  dinner,  were  brought  in  to  con- 
verse with  him,  and  show  how  well  they  had  got 
on  with  their  English.  They  chatted  with  rare 
volubility,  and  in  such  a  rich  North-of-Ireland 
Drogue  that  at  length  the  visitor  broke  out  into 
irrepressible  laughter.  It  was  impossible  to  avoid 
an  explanation,  and,  in  short,  the  host  learned,  to 
his  inexpressible  chagrin,  that  mademoiselle  had 
been  quite  right  in  her  doubts  as  to  the  purity  of 
her  little  charges'  English. 

Another  of  these  women  had  spent  many  years 
in  England  as  a  governess,  and  had  in  some  way 
come  in  contact  with  George  and  Andrew  Combe 


170  Swiss  Life 

of  Edinburgh,  and  was  deeply  imbued  with  their 
views  in  regard  to  education  and  kindred  sub- 
jects. She  had,  as  I  understood,  contributed  ar- 
ticles thereon  to  Swiss  periodicals;  but  I  never 
saw  any  of  her  writings.  I  should  say  that  the 
keeper  of  the  pension  in  question  had  herself 
been  a  governess,  and  had  spent  the  happiest  days 
of  her  life  in  the  family  of  a  Derbyshire  magnate. 
It  was  highly  amusing  to  hear  this  lady  relate 
her  experiences  in  England.  She  had  relations  in 
the  hotel-keeping  line,  and  in  her  early  days  had 
heard  a  great  deal  about  the  "  mad  English,"  who 
travelled  to  and  fro  with,  in  short,  "  lashings  "  of 
money,  and  about  the  same  amount  of  eccentri- 
city. This  talk  had  reference,  of  course,  to  the 
old  days  of  foreign  travel,  when  "my  lord'' 
knocked  about  in  his  coach-and-four,  and  dropped 
his  sovereigns  as  though  they  were  as  cheap  as 
cigar-dust.  Stories  of  those  times  are,  or  were  a 
few  years  ago,  still  recounted  by  the  older  hotel- 
keepers  with  a  mixture  of  respect  and  amusement 
not  difficult  to  realise.  The  little  governess, 
therefore,  came  to  England  with  the  full  expecta- 
tion of  finding  everybody  as  mad  as  the  proverb- 
ial March  hare.  **  I  was  so  much  surprised," 
she  would  say  simply,  "  when  I  found  them  so 
different  from  what  I  had  expected.  Mais,  voyez 
vous,''  she  would  add  with  a  laugh,  '' je  les  ai 
trouve  tons  un  peu  tocques  "  ("I  found  them  all  a 
little  touched  ").  One  of  the  things  that  struck 
her  as  extraordinary  was  the  fact  that,  a  day  or 


Swiss  Women  and  Swiss  Homes  171 

two  after  her  arrival,  two  of  the  elder  girls  she 
was  to  instruct  went  out  before  breakfast  in  the 
misty  autumn  morning  to  gather  mushrooms, 
both  of  them  wearing  a  pair  of  old  boots  without 
stockings,  and  both,  as  she  put  it,  without  a  scrap 
of  hat  i^pas  un  brin  de  chapeaiC).  The  fact  that 
they  simply  went  into  a  meadow  adjoining  the 
house  did  not  count. 

More  amusing  was  her  story  of  the  two  maiden 
ladies  who,  wishing  to  be  kind  to  the  tramps  who 
passed  their  house,  but  being  afraid  to  have  them 
come  through  the  garden  to  the  door,  had  a  little 
seat  built  at  the  gate,  whereon  each  morning  they 
placed  an  equal  number  of  tracts  and  pence,  and 
over  them  a  card  bearing  the  inscription,  "  Take 
one  of  each,"  They  thought  the  method  worked 
well  because  the  tracts  as  well  as  the  pence  in- 
variably disappeared. 

Having  given  these  governess  stories  about  the 
English,  I  must  add  one  told  me  by  the  little  lady 
who  had  been  gouvernante  to  the  daughter  of 
Georges  Sand.  The  illustrious  writer  was  the 
heroine  of  the  story,  which,  according  to  my  in- 
formant, she  used  to  tell  with  great  enjoyment. 
She  and  her  mari  were  taking  the  waters  at  some 
Swiss  Bad.  Shortly  after  retiring  for  the  night 
the  gentleman  was  taken  with  severe  headache, 
and  Madame  Sand,  to  give  him  relief,  rushed 
downstairs  to  the  kitchen  to  get  a  towel  wrung 
out  of  hot  water.  With  this  piping  hot,  the  good 
lady  hurried  back  to  the  sufferer;  but  in  her  haste 


172 


Swiss  Life 


and  confusion  she  unfortunately  entered  the 
wrong  room,  and  clapped  the  scalding  towel  on 
to  the  wrong  man's  head.  "  Madame,"  said  the 
narrator,  "  did  not  wait  for  the  end  of  the  incid- 
ent; but  she  heard  the  gentleman's  imprecations 
all  down  the  corridor."  Which  one  can  well 
understand. 


CHAPTER  XII 

SWISS   CHII.DRKN 

THE  subject  of  Swiss  life  and  work  must  not 
be  left  without  a  few  words  about  those  who 
in  the  coming  generation  will  have  to  carry  on  the 
toil  and  the  tradition  of  their  country — the  child- 
ren of  to-day.  The  upgrowing  men  and  women 
of  Switzerland  have  always  appeared  to  me  very 
delightful.  In  town  and  country  alike  they  in- 
variably meet  one  with  a  frank,  ingenuous  look, 
and  not  uncommonly  with  a  bright,  sunny  smile. 
Though  they  are  quick  to  mark  the  stranger,  and 
to  note,  perhaps,  his  outlandish  garb,  yet  it  is  rare 
to  observe  in  them  any  rudeness,  either  of  speech 
or  manner.  Indeed,  I  may  say  that,  so  far  as  my 
own  experience  goes,  I  cannot  recall  a  single  in- 
stance of  impoliteness  on  the  part  of  a  Swiss  boy 
or  girl.  I  do  not  know  that,  taken  as  a  whole, 
Swiss  children  are  better  than  others.  They,  no 
doubt,  have  their  faults,  as  all  have;  but  I  must 
say  that  I  have  never  found  children  anywhere 
better  behaved  than  in  this  land  of  mountain  and 
lake.  In  the  villages  and  on  the  country  roads 
they  rarely  meet  you  without  a  polite  Guten  Tag 

173 


1/4  Swiss  Life 

or  Bon  jour,  and  if  you  should  happen  to  inquire 
the  way  to  some  place,  they  will  not  infrequently 
take  considerable  trouble  to  see  that  you  go  right. 
As  a  rule,  they  show  the  greatest  trust,  and  with 
a  little  encouragement  they  will  enter  into  conver- 
sation, and  prove  themselves  very  agreeable  com- 
panions if  they  chance  to  be  travelling  your  way. 

I  remember  once  in  particular  falling  in  with  a 
little  fellow  who  was  trudging  home  from  school 
with  a  small  knapsack  of  books  on  his  back.  It 
was  late  in  the  year,  and  the  days  were  getting 
short.  But  though  it  would  be  dark  before  the 
little  fellow  could  reach  home,  he  showed  no  fear. 
Yet  his  way  lay  alongside  a  grim  pine  forest,  full 
of  strange  whispers  and  uncanny  sounds,  that 
would  have  made  many  a  taller  man  feel  queer  in 
the  dark.  I  was  not  sorry  to  have  the  companion- 
ship of  one  who  was  sure  of  the  way,  and  during 
the  mile  or  two  we  had  to  go  together  I  found 
his  boyish  talk  extremely  enjoyable,  and  to  a 
stranger  not  a  little  enlightening.  He  knew  all 
the  live  things  of  the  forest,  and  could  tell  the 
names  of  the  flowers  that  grew  by  the  wayside  in 
the  sunny  season.  One  steep  slope  he  pointed  out 
as  being  specially  notable  for  its  Erdbeeren,  or 
wild  strawberries,  and  spoke  with  a  certain  pride 
of  the  number  of  tiny  basketfuls  he  and  his 
brothers  and  sisters  had  gathered  the  previous 
summer,  and  sold  either  to  passing  tourists  or  in 
the  near-lying  town. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  one  never  sees  Swiss 


Swiss  Children  17S 

children  gathering  unripe  fruit — destroying  it, 
that  is — as  is  so  common  amongst  the  young  at 
home.  In  England  not  only  town  children  when 
in  the  country,  but  country  children,  who  ought 
to  know  better,  will  pluck  unripe  nuts  and  green 
fruit  wherever  it  is  to  be  found,  totally  oblivious 
of  the  fact  that  they  are  thereby  spoiling  a  pos- 
sible future  pleasure  for  themselves,  to  say  no- 
thing of  others.  In  this  respect,  at  least,  Swiss 
children  are  better  taught,  and  though  the  way- 
sides are  often  thickly  planted  with  fruit-trees, 
neither  boy  nor  girl  is  ever  seen  to  take  the  fruit 
in  an  unripe  condition.  On  the  contrary,  they 
are  taught  to  regard  the  plucking  of  unripe  fruit 
as  something  criminal.  I  shall  never  forget  the 
cry  of  horror  or  disgust  which  spontaneously  burst 
from  a  group  of  boys  w^ho  were  fishing  in  the 
Aar  when  they  saw  an  Englishman  draw  down 
the  bough  of  a  plum-tree,  and  pluck  a  still  green 
fruit.  It  was  as  though  he  had  committed  some 
sacrilege.  The  wild  strawberries  are  never 
touched  until  quite  ripe.  This  is  part  of  the  edu- 
cation of  the  young.  But  when  the  fruit  is  ripe 
for  gathering,  these  little  men  and  w^omen  will 
travel  miles,  and  ascend  to  considerable  heights 
on  the  mountain  side,  to  gather  these  delicacies, 
which,  in  the  districts  frequented  by  tourists,  sell 
at  a  good  price.  They  assist  in  garnering  the 
whortleberry  harvest  in  the  same  way.  But  before 
either  the  wild  strawberry  or  the  whortleberry  is 
ripe  these  little  sons  of  the  firn  will  ascend  to 


17^  Swiss  Life 

dizzy  heights  bordering  on  the  regions  of  eternal 
snow  to  gather  the  whitish-green  blooms  of  the 
edelweiss,  pale  emblem  of  the  eternal  peace  that 
for  ever  reigns  in  those  vast  solitudes.  These 
they  tie  up  in  tiny  bundles,  and  sell  to  travellers 
for  a  few  centimes  apiece.  They  will  stand  by 
the  roadside  in  the  hot  sun  for  hours  in  the  hope 
of  getting  a  purchaser. 

It  is  wonderful  what  knowledge  many  of  these 
children  acquire  through  their  intimate  contact 
with  nature.  It  is  not,  of  course,  *  *  book  know- 
ledge," and  so  in  examinations  it  would  perhaps 
not  tell,  but  it  is  of  the  very  kernel  and  essence 
of  knowledge,  nevertheless.  This,  Swiss  peda- 
gogy has  of  recent  years  been  finding  out.  For  in 
Switzerland,  as  with  us,  a  movement  was  some 
time  ago  set  afoot  to  bring  the  school,  so  to  speak, 
more  in  contact  with  nature.  Teachers  were  re- 
quired to  be  well  read  in  science,  so  as  to  be  able 
to  instruct  their  young  charges  in  the  common 
objects  of  the  country.  But  though  the  science 
thus  imported  into  the  school  served  well  enough 
for  town-bred  children,  it  was  found  in  the  rural 
districts  that  these  dispensers  of  popular  science 
were  really  novices  in  the  subjects  they  pretended 
to  teach  in  comparison  wnth  many  of  their  schol- 
ars, who  knew  at  first  hand,  and  often  with  rare 
fulness,  the  things  their  instructors  knew  only 
from  books,  and  to  a  certain  extent  perfunctorily. 
Thus,  in  numberless  instances,  the  teacher  found 
himself  going  to  school  to  his  scholar.     This  fact 


Swiss  Children  17? 

has  been  noted  and  commented  upon  by  educa- 
tionists, and  from  such  a  direct  people  as  the 
Swiss  we  may  expect  some  practical  results  to 
ensue. 

The  same  thing  has  been  noted  by  English 
teachers.  In  one  instance  in  particular  that  came 
under  my  own  notice  the  teacher  of  a  mixed  village 
school  used  to  take  her  older  scholars  on  long 
walks  through  the  fields  and  over  the  commons 
to  give  them  lessons  on  the  flowers,  grasses,  and 
other  natural  objects  they  met  with  on  their 
rambles.  But  she  soon  found  how  inconsiderable 
was  the  knowledge  she  could  impart  to  them  in 
this  respect,  while  from  them,  with  their  intimate 
knowledge  of  nearly  every  living  thing,  she  was 
filling  up  the  lacunae  of  her  book-knowledge  all 
the  time.  A  Swiss  teacher  whom  I  recently  met 
reported  a  similar  experience.  *'  I  had  read 
deeply  in  science,"  he  said,  "  but  I  only  came  to 
know  what  a  true  knowledge  of  natural  things 
meant  after  I  was  appointed  to  a  rural  school. 
The  boys  could  tell  me  no  end  of  things  I  did  not 
know  even  in  regard  to  matters  which  I  had  made 
the  subject  of  special  study.  My  science  was 
too  much  a  conglomeration  of  words,  theirs  was 
knowledge  of  the  thing  itself."  One  day,  per- 
haps, we  shall  learn  to  place  our  schools  less  un- 
der the  obsession  of  books. 

But  to  return  to  my  little  man  of  the  mountain, 
who  knew  the  natural  things  of  the  forest  so  well. 
He  had  heard,  too,  of  the   supernatural  beings 


12 


17^  Swiss  Life 

supposed  to  haunt  its  fastnesses — beings,  some 
bright  and  beneficent,  others  fearsome  and  evil. 
Of  these  things  he  spoke  with  awe,  and  when  I 
asked  him  if  he  was  never  afraid  of  them  in  pass- 
ing the  wood  at  night,  he  said  he  sometimes  felt 
a  little  timorous,  but  he  added  that  his  mother 
had  taught  him,  whenever  he  felt  anything  of  the 
kind,  to  repeat  the  words: 

**  Du  lieber  Gott,  ich  bin  dein  Kind, 
Mach  mich  zu  allem  Uebel  blind," 

which,  Englished,  would  read: 

"  Dear  God  above,  I  am  Thy  child, 
Make  me  to  every  evilbUnd —  " 

a  very  prett}^  and  wholesome  way,  it  must  be 
confes.sed,  in  which  to  banish  fear. 

It  is  astonishing,  too,  to  note  what  distances 
children  sometimes  have  to  go  to  school,  and  how 
sturdily  they  trudge  to  and  fro,  even  in  the  cold 
weather,  and  though  the  hours  of  school-going 
are  much  earlier  than  with  us.  Seven  o'clock  in 
summer  and  eight  in  winter  is  the  usual  time  for 
being  in  class.  This  is  rather  early,  according  to 
our  ideas;  but  then  the  business  of  the  da}^  be- 
gins, as  a  rule,  much  earlier  in  Switzerland  than 
with  us.  Some  of  the  educational  associations, 
however,  are  at  present  endeavouring  to  bring 
about  a  modification  as  regards  children  under 
ten  years  of  age,  to  whom  they  think  it  would  be 


Swiss  Children  179 

beneficial  if  school-time  were  made  an  hour  later 
■^that  is,  eight  in  summer  and  nine  in  winter. 

The  change  would,  no  doubt,  be  advantageous, 
especially  to  children  of  the  more  rural  districts, 
with  whom  winter  is  often  the  chief  season  for 
schooling,  so  many  calls  being  made  upon  them 
for  labour  during  the  open  weather,  and  the 
school  authorities  making  every  possible  allow- 
ance on  that  account.  Possibly  in  some  cases  too 
much  latitude  is  thus  granted,  with  the  result 
that  little  ones  are  at  times  made  drudges  of  to 
their  hurt.  One  cannot  help  sometimes  pitying 
thr?  tiny  girls,  undersized  and  apparently  under- 
fed, that  one  sees  seated  in  front  of  wayside 
chalets  making  pillow-lace  to  tempt  the  passing 
stranger.  In  like  manner  one  is  sometimes 
moved  to  pity  by  seeing  a  small  boy  or  girl  help- 
ing, along  with  a  dog,  to  draw  the  Swiss  milk- 
distributor's  cart. 

Perhaps  the  labour  in  these  cases  is  not  exces- 
sive, and  it  is  not  that  which  gives  the  children 
their  pinched  looks;  but  one  unfortunately  gets 
that  impression.  One  thing  is  very  sure,  and  it 
accounts  to  a  large  extent  for  the  pale  faces  and 
shrunken  forms  of  so  many  Swiss  children,  and 
it  is  that,  though  the  houses  of  the  peasantry  are 
very  charming  and  picturesque  to  look  upon,  they 
are  often  enough  far  from  being  all  that  could  be 
desired  from  a  sanitary  point  of  view.  The  rooms 
are  narrow  and  confined,  and  though  they  are 
blown  through  by  the  fresh  winds  in  summer, 


i8o  Swiss  Life 

that  does  not  altogether  make  up  for  the  close  and 
stuffy  atmosphere  that  has  to  be  put  up  with  in 
winter,  nor  for  the  too  often  unwholesomely 
packed  sleeping  quarters  at  all  seasons. 

The  criticism  applies  equally  to  the  chalet  on 
the  brae-side  and  to  the  houses  of  the  poorer  folk 
in  the  towns — exquisite  pictures  they  make  for 
the  camera,  but  nothing  less  than  deadly  are  they 
within.  It  is  this  condition,  probably,  more  than 
anything  else,  which  accounts  for  the  sickly  looks 
and  pinched  frames  of  so  many  Swiss  children, 
even  in  the  healthiest  parts  of  the  country — aided, 
no  doubt,  by  the  great  amount  of  labour  that  is 
put  upon  them,  and  to  which  they  devote  them- 
selves so  patiently.  I  well  remember  a  little  girl, 
still  almost  young  enough  to  be  sung  to  sleep  her- 
self, who  used  every  evening  to  spend  a  couple  of 
hours,  within  sight  of  my  window,  hushing  to 
sleep  a  baby  half  as  big  as  herself.  As  she 
walked  to  and  fro  she  sang  the  lullaby: 

"  Schlaf,  Kindlein,  schlaf !     Dein  Vater  hiitet  Schaf— " 

SO  well-beloved  of  Swiss  children.  It  is  next  to 
impossible  to  put  the  spirit  of  it  into  English 
words,  but  some  idea  of  the  ditty  may  be  obtained 
from  the  annexed  rendering: 

"  Sleep,  baby,  sleep  !    Thy  father  tends  the  sheep, 
•Thy  mother  shakes  the  little  tree, 
A  tiny  dream  falls  down  for  thee, 
Sleep,  baby,  sleep  ! 


< 


en 

CO 


Swiss  Children  18 1 

"  Sleep,  baby,  sleep  !     In  heaven  walk  the  sheep, 
The  stars  they  are  the  lambkins  small, 
The  moon  it  is  the  shepherd  tall, 
Sleep,  baby,  sleep." 

And  so  on,  through  three  or  four  more  stanzas 
of  dainty,  childlike  nonsense. 

As  a  contrast  to  this  little  baby  nurse  one  may 
present  the  picture,  so  often  witnessed  in  the 
summer  season,  of  troops  of  children,  headed  by 
the  schoolmaster  or  schoolmistress,  often  by  both, 
wending  their  way  along  the  mountain  paths, 
vasculum  at  side,  enjoying  the  fresh  air,  the  fra- 
grant woods,  and  the  flower-lit  meadows,  joyfully 
gathering  knowledge  and  health  at  the  same  time. 
Then  are  the  schools  set  free;  for  when  the  tem- 
perature has  reached  a  point  at  which  the  children 
become  listless,  school  doors  have  to  be  thrown 
open — de  par  la  lot — and  the  scholars  dismissed. 
To  do  otherwise  is  regarded  as  cruelty. 

The  higher  schools  follow  the  same  plan,  and  it 
is  no  uncommon  thing,  in  rambling  about  the 
Alps,  to  meet  long  strings  of  girls,  evidently  of 
the  better  classes,  tripping  along  the  mountain 
slopes,  headed  by  their  teachers,  and  perhaps  with 
a  guide  to  lead.  They  have  carefully-done-up 
bundles  at  their  backs,  containing  a  rug  or  water- 
proof, and  etceteras;  they  carry  tins  with  sand- 
wiches and  the  like;  and,  with  alpenstock  in 
hand,  their  look  is  one  of  businesslike  earnest. 
Nor  is  it  by  any  means  make-believe ;  for  some  of 
these  slight  misses  will  walk,  with  little  trouble, 


1 82  Swiss  Life 

twelve  or  fifteen  miles  a  day,  and  arrive  at  their 
hotel  at  night  with  nothing  more  the  matter  with 
them  than  a  bad  hunger.  They  do  not  show 
quite  so  much  gaiety  towards  evening,  perhaps, 
as  when  met  earlier  in  the  day  ;  but  it  is 
very  pleasant  to  see  their  fresh  looks  and  their 
cheeks  almost  as  ruddy  as  the  Alpenr'dsli^  with 
which,  in  true  Swiss  fashion,  they  have  adorned 
the  heads  of  their  climbing-poles.  These  girl- 
parties  do  not  show  such  a  readiness  for  song  as 
the  companies  of  men  who  in  the  summer  season 
take  long  jaunts  together  and  make  the  moun- 
tains, if  not  the  '*  welkin,"  ring  with  their  voices; 
but  one  may  occasionally  hear  their  shrill  trebles 
waking  almost  bird-like  echoes  as  they  take  upon 
their  lips  such  songs  as  that  known  as  Singen  und 
Wandern  : 

**  Nun  ist  die  schone  Friihlingszeit, 
Nun  gehtes  an  ein  Wandern. 
Bald  ist 's  allein  und  bald  zu  zwei'n, 
Bald  trifft  es  sich  mit  andern. 
Wie  junges  Griin  und  Sonnenschein, 
So  muss  beim  I^enz  das  Wandern  sein." 

This  is  a  great  favourite;  but  still  more  be- 
loved for  a  shrill  out-of-doors  shout  is  Roslein  im 
Walde  — 

**  Irgend  und  irgend  im  Wald 
Bliihet  ein  Roselein, — 

with  its  telling  chorus,— 


Swiss  Children 


183 


*'  Singet  mein  Herz  juchhe 
Hallo  ! 

Ju  heissa  ! 
Trara!" 


Songs,  these,  which,  with  the  companionship  of 
the  sweet  air  of  the  woods  and  mountains  and  the 
scent  of  the  meadow  blossoms,  keep  the  heart 
young  Hke  the  unspoiled  hearts  of  children. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

MII.ITARY  SYSTEM 

THERE  is  nothing  in  Europe  so  unique  in  a 
military  sense  as  the  Swiss  army,  and  it  is 
unique  in  more  ways  than  one.  Take  the  item 
of  cost,  for  instance.  The  British  army  costs  over 
;^ioo  per  man  per  annum,  the  Russian  army 
about  ^23,  but  the  Swiss  army  only  £']  per  man. 
This  wonderful  difference  arises  from  the  fact  that 
the  army  of  the  Swiss  Confederation  is  a  citizen 
army.  It  is  organised  on  what  has  been  called 
the  ' '  voluntary  compulsory  ' '  system,  to  which 
the  Swiss  of  their  own  free  will  have  resigned 
themselves  in  order  to  maintain  the  independence 
of  their  country.  And  it  is  interesting  to  note 
that  they  were  the  first  nation  in  Europe  to  intro- 
duce universal  liability  to  military  service.  This 
arose  from  the  oppression  to  which  the  men  of  the 
prhnitive  cantons  of  Uri,  Schwyz,  and  Unterwal- 
den  were  subjected  by  Austria  and  her  bailiffs, 
which  made  it  incumbent  on  every  able-bodied 
man  to  familiarise  himself  with  the  use  of  arms. 

This  law  has  been  so  long  in  force  that  soldier- 
ing has  become  to  the  Swiss  a  second  nature.    He 

184      _ 


Military  System  185 

takes  to  the  knapsack  and  rifle  as  readily  as  a 
bird  to  the  wing.  By  Article  i8  of  the  Federal 
Constitution  every  Swiss  male  is  liable  to  military 
service  from  his  seventeenth  to  his  fiftieth  year. 
But  long  before  he  has  reached  the  age  of  seven- 
teen the  Swiss  boy  has,  as  a  rule,  learned  to  march, 
to  do  the  manual  exercises,  and  to  go  through 
much  of  the  military  drill;  for  all  this  is  taught 
him  in  the  school  playground.  There  is,  indeed, 
so  much  of  this  military  spirit  in  the  Swiss  that 
not  many  years  ago  it  became  a  nuisance,  inciting 
the  young  fellows  to  enroll  themselves  in  amateur 
companies,  and  to  go  strutting  and  marching 
about  in  uniform,  until  they  became  such  a  public 
pest  that  the  custom  had  to  be  put  down  by  law. 
The  Federal  forces  fall  into  three  divisions, 
named  respectively  the  Aiisziig^  or  Elite ;  the 
Landwehr^  or  First  Reserve;  and  the  Landstunn, 
or  Second  Reserve.  The  Elite  consists  of  the 
flower  of  young  manhood,  all  being  liable  to  serve 
in  it  from  the  age  of  twenty  to  thirty-two.  At 
the  age  of  thirty-two  a  man  passes  into  the  Land- 
wehr^  to  which  he  belongs  until  he  is  forty-four. 
To  the  La?idstiir7?i,  or  Second  Reserve,  all  are 
liable  from  the  age  of  seventeen  to  fifty  who  are 
not  incorporated  in  the  Elite  or  Layidwehr.  In- 
deed, those  over  fifty  years  of  age  are  not  exempt 
if  capable  of  service.  To  this  liability  to  service 
there  are  but  few  exceptions,  and  they  consist 
mainly  of  members  of  the  Federal  Council,  some 
of  the  members  of  the  Federal  Tribunal,  docl  ors, 


1 86  Swiss  Life 

and  officials  connected  with  hospitals,  prisons, 
the  postal  and  telegraph  service,  etc.  All  the 
brothers  in  a  family  are  liable  to  serve,  and  there 
is  no  exemption  on  the  ground  that  a  family  is 
dependent  on  a  man  for  support.  A  citizen  is 
only  exempt  if  he  be  physically  incapable,  or  if 
he  be  under  size.  No  one  is  enrolled  under  5  feet 
1^2  inches  in  height,  unless,  by  reason  of  special 
qualifications,  he  is  deemed  eligible  for  particular 
branches  of  work.  The  percentage  of  those  who 
pass  muster  is  slightly  over  sixty  of  the  entire 
manhood  of  the  country.  In  a  recent  year  the 
levy  produced  for  the  regular  army,  or  Elitey 
117,179  men;  and  the  La?idwehr  for  the  same 
year  numbered  84,046;  making  a  total  of  201,225, 
which  is  no  inconsiderable  proportion  of  a  popu- 
lation of  three  millions. 

The  Swiss  hold  it  to  be  a  very  advantageous  ar- 
rangement that  all,  poor  as  well  as  rich,  labourer 
like  professional  man,  must  serve  in  the  ranks, 
side  by  side.  They  believe  that  it  tends  to  pre- 
vent any  sharp  division  of  classes;  they  think 
further  that  it  has  the  effect  of  welding  all  ranks 
together  in  closer  bonds  of  sympathy.  There  is, 
moreover,  no  picking  and  choosing  in  the  service, 
as,  for  instance,  selecting  this  or  that  arm,  this  or 
that  regiment,  because  it  is  more  respectable  or 
more  fashionable  than  another.  Each  man  is 
placed  where  he  will  tell  to  the  best  advantage. 
At  least  that  is  the  rule.  Thus  a  civil  engineer 
becomes  a  military  engineer,  a  civil  veterinary 


Military  System  187 

surgeon  is  put  into  the  cavalry  or  artillery,  while 
a  butcher  or  baker  would  be  drafted  into  the 
commissariat  department.  A  man  has  this  choice, 
however,  that  he  may  elect  to  be  in  a  cavalry 
regiment.  So  much  is  almost  necessary,  because, 
under  certain  conditions,  the  cavalry  soldier  has 
to  provide  and  keep  his  own  horse. 

Not  onl}"  is  this  the  case,  but,  the  military  sys- 
tem being  "  territorial,"  every  man  serves  in  the 
division  and  regiment  belonging  to  his  own  dis- 
trict. Thus  a  man,  when  doing  his  soldiering, 
finds  himself  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  the  neigh- 
boiir  who  was  once  his  school-fellow,  and  whom, 
when  at  home,  he  meets  daily  in  the  common 
work  of  the  commune.  There  are  eight  territorial 
divisions,  each  of  which  furnishes  one  complete 
infantry  division.  The  year's  recruits,  as  soon 
as  they  join,  are  sent  to  one  of  the  Ecoles  des 
Recrues,  which  are  held  at  the  following  places: 
Lausanne,  Colombier,  Berne,  Lucerne,  Aarau, 
Liestal,  Zurich,  and  St.  Gall.  At  these  schools 
the  recruits  undergo  six  w^eeks'  training.  After 
that  they  are  only  required  to  go  up  for  sixteen 
days'  training  every  two  years.  Bach  year,  how- 
ever, everyone  belonging  to  the  army  is  ex- 
pected to  do  a  certain  amount  of  practice  with  the 
rifle,  to  keep  his  hand  in,  and  every  commune 
throughout  the  country  is  provided  with  a  rifle- 
range  (ySchutz-grabeTi)  for  that  purpose. 

The  double  sovereignty  existing  in  Switzerland 
— that  is,  the  sovereignty  of  the  canton  and  the 


1 88  Swiss  Life 

sovereignty  of  the  Confederation — is  evidenced 
in  everything  relating  to  the  army.  All  laws 
which  affect  its  organisation  emanate  from  the 
Confederation,  but  the  duty  of  carrying  these  laws 
into  effect  is  vested  in  the  cantonal  authorities, 
who  see  that  no  man  evades  the  duties  of  service, 
and  who  are  responsible  for  the  recruiting  and 
maintenance  of  a  military  force  proportioned  to 
the  area  and  population  of  the  canton,  although 
no  canton  is  allowed  to  keep  on  foot  a  permanent 
force  of  more  than  three  hundred  men.  The  nom- 
ination of  the  officers  of  the  cantonal  troops  to  the 
rank  of  commandaiit  de  bataillon^  or  major,  is 
vested  in  the  authorities  of  each  canton;  but  be- 
fore they  are  accepted  they  must  have  satisfied 
the  Federal  military  authorities  as  to  their  capa- 
city and  fitness  for  the  rank  to  which  it  is  proposed 
to  appoint  them.  Ofiicers  of  higher  rank  than 
major  hold  their  commissions  from  the  Federal 
Council. 

Switzerland  possesses  no  special  military  col- 
leges, like  those  of  Woolwich  and  Sandhurst ;  but 
every  soldier  before  he  can  become  an  officer  has 
to  attend  the  courses  of  instruction  held  at  regular 
intervals  in  one  centre  or  another.  For  instance, 
there  is  a  central  military  college  at  Thun  for  the 
instruction  of  officers  of  the  general  staff,  and  an- 
other for  regimental  oflBcers.  Here,  also,  are  tht- 
principal  artillery  and  cavalry  barracks.  At  Base) 
is  a  school  for  the  training  of  infantry  instructors. 
There  are  other  schools  for  other  departments  oi 


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Military  System  189 

work,  as,  for  example,  for  ambulance  work  and 
for  shooting  (specially  for  ofl&cers).  But  these 
schools  for  instruction  are  open  only  at  certain 
periods,  not  continuously. 

The  infantry,  the  field  artillery,  cavalry,  and 
certain  other  troops  are  recruited  by  the  cantons, 
and  are  known  as  cantonal  troops.  But  the  engi- 
neers, guides,  sanitary  and  administrative  troops, 
and  the  army  train  are  enrolled  by  the  Confedera- 
tion. Arms  are  supplied  by  the  Confederation ;  but 
the  equipments  and  uniforms  are  furnished  by  the 
cantons,  for  which  they  are  afterwards  reimbursed 
by  the  Federal  authorities.  The  army,  on  a  peace 
footing,  is  absolutely  complete  in  every  depart- 
ment. The  medical,  commissariat,  and  veteri- 
nary departments  are  thoroughly  organised. 
There  is  a  fitting  proportion  of  cavalry,  artillery, 
engineers,  and  transport.  Each  battalion  is  kept 
up  to  its  full  strength,  and  all  in  readiness  for  serv- 
ice. In  short,  all  the  adjuncts  for  making  the 
army  mobile  in  the  field  are,  with  the  Swiss  sys- 
tem of  administration,  complete  and  in  thorough 
working  order. 

The  Federal  Military  Department  exercises  the 
executive  power  over  the  army;  and  in  order  to 
facilitate  the  discharge  of  its  duty  this  department 
has  at  its  disposal  twelve  heads  of  the  various 
branches  of  the  service.  The  Federal  Council 
selects  the  ofl&cers  of  the  general  staff,  or  Etat 
major,  which,  on  a  peace  footing,  consists  of  three 
colonels,  sixteen  lieutenant- colonels  or    majors, 


igo  Swiss  Life 

and  thirty-five  captains.  The  chief  of  the  general 
staff  is  nominated  for  three  years,  but  the  appoint- 
ment  may  be  renewed.  The  bureau  of  the  £fal 
major  at  Berne  is  divided  into  two  distinct  sections 
— the  general  section,  which  is  under  the  immedi- 
ate supervision  of  the  chief  of  the  Corps  d' ^tat 
vtctjor,  and  the  railway  section,  consisting  of  nine- 
teen officers  of  various  ranks. 

The  officers  of  the  cantonal  troops  are  nom- 
inated by  the  Grand  Council  of  the  canton,  upon 
the  recommendation  of  the  cantonal  military  di- 
rector, after  having  successfully  passed  through 
the  schools  of  instruction.  Promotion  from  lieu- 
tenant to  first  lieutenant  takes  place  according  to 
seniority;  but  the  succeeding  steps  from  lieutenant 
to  captain  are  given  in  consideration  of  the  officer's 
general  fitness  and  aptitude  without  regard  to  his 
seniority.  The  same  is  true  as  regards  the  ap- 
pointment of  ofi&cers  up  to  the  rank  of  colonel.  In 
other  words,  promotion  is  by  merit,  and  every 
soldier  must  first  begin  his  career  in  the  ranks. 
With  the  exception  of  those  filling  the  post  of  in- 
structors, the  general  staff",  and  a  few  other 
officials,  Swiss  officers  receive  pay  only  during 
the  short  period  they  are  called  upon  for  training. 
It  should  be  said  that  no  officer  rises  to  a  higher 
rank  than  colonel,  unless  he  be  selected  for  com- 
mander-in-chief, when  he  becomes  a  general. 
Hence  there  is  only  one  general  in  the  Swiss 
army.  In  time  of  war  the  commander-in-chief  is 
entitled  to  receive  £2  a  day  by  way  of  remunera- 


Military  System  191 

tion,  while  the  pay  of  the  private  would  be  about 
eightpence. 

Since  the  time  of  William  Tell,  or  the  period  in 
which  he  is  reputed  to  have  lived,  the  Swiss  have 
recognised  the  immense  importance  of  shooting; 
and  from  that  day  to  this  it  has  been  the  aim  of 
all  their  successive  governments  to  encourage  by 
every  means  in  their  power  excellence  in  marks- 
manship. The  Tir  Federal  (Federal  Shooting 
Association),  generously  supported  by  the  Con- 
federation, is  only  one  of  the  many  institutions 
with  the  same  end  in  view.  Almost  every  com- 
mune has  its  shooting  club,  and  this  with  the  in- 
ter-communal and  inter-cantonal  matches,  tends 
to  keep  up  a  high  excellence  of  rifle-shooting. 

All  those  who  have  spent  any  time  in  Switzer- 
land must  have  been  struck  with  the  amount  of 
gun-firing  to  be  heard  on  Sundays,  saints'  days, 
and  holiday's.  Sometimes  it  becomes  a  nuisance 
to  the  visitor,  for  from  early  morning  until  late  at 
night  there  is  hardly  anything  to  be  heard  but 
the  continual  banging  and  "pink-pinking"  of 
firearms.  The  men  seem  to  have  no  other  enjoy- 
ment but  using  their  rifles,  and  the  women  no 
other  pleasure  except  watching  them  do  it,  unless 
it  be  accompanying  them  to  and  from  the  ranges. 
But  such  is  the  way  the  Swiss  prepare  themselves 
for  the  defence  of  their  country.  On  fete  days  one 
may  see  men  in  all  the  different  grades  of  the  serv- 
ice, from  the  newly  joined  recruit  to  the  major 
of  his   battalion,  standing   side   by  side   in   the 


19^  Swiss  Life 

Schutz-graben  of  the  commune,  thus  voluntarily 
spending  their  holiday  afternoons  in  perfecting 
themselves  in  the  use  of  the  rifle.  And  no  one 
can  have  watched  their  practice  at  the  butts  with- 
out being  struck  with  the  general  excellence  of 
their  marksmanship.  These  gatherings  are  util- 
ised for  general  musketry  instruction;  for  every 
Swiss  soldier  is  compelled  to  fire  thirty-five 
rounds  annually.  If  he  does  not  complete  his 
score  at  the  cantonal  rifle-meetings  he  is  obliged 
to  attend  a  three  days'  course  of  shooting  under 
military  supervision. 

As  a  crowning  feature  of  this  admirable  system 
of  national  defence,  with  the  few  exceptions  above 
mentioned,  no  one  is  paid  for  the  service  he  gives 
to  the  State  as  a  soldier.  He  is,  however,  put  to 
no  expense  while  doing  his  soldiering.  When 
going  up  for  drill  his  uniform  serves  in  lieu  of  a 
railway-ticket.  Nor  is  the  soldier  entitled  to 
pension;  but  if,  during  his  military  service,  he 
has  been  injured  and  so  incapacitated  for  work,  he 
may  claim  some  support  in  case  of  need.  If 
killed,  his  family  stand  in  the  same  position, 
should  they  require  assistance.  Apart  from  those 
who  are  exempt  from  service  because  of  their  call- 
ing, every  Swiss  male  who  does  not  perform  mili- 
tary service  is  subject  to  an  annual  tax  in  lieu 
thereof — and  this,  whether  he  resides  in  the  Con- 
federation or  not.  This  tax  amounts  to  six  francs 
per  man,  with  the  addition  of  one  franc  fifty  cen- 
times for  every  thousand  francs  of  fortune  he  may 


Military  System  193 

possess,  or  one  hundred  francs  of  income,  until  the 
age  of  thirty- two,  and  one  half  the  same  for  that 
age  until  the  age  of  forty-four. 

M.  Marsauche  says,  in  his  work  on  Switzer- 
land,' that  the  Swiss  in  e&ect  possess  the  strong- 
est and  perhaps  the  best-drilled  army  among 
nations  of  the  second  rank.  This  in  the  main  is 
no  doubt  true.  One  cannot  see  a  body  of  Swiss 
troops  without  being  struck  with  their,  in  gen- 
eral, good  physique  and  many  soldierly  qualities. 
If  they  show  a  lack  in  any  respect  it  is  one  that 
could  be  quickly  rectified  by  the  drill-sergeant. 
However,  some  of  the  most  competent  judges  in 
matters  military  have  pronounced  the  Swiss  army 
to  be  admirable  for  its  purpose,  and  ' '  a  veritable 
model  of  democratic  organisation."  There  is 
certainly  one  very  praiseworthy  thing  to  be  said 
in  its  favour:  it  is  the  most  powerful  instrument 
of  the  kind  we  know,  obtained  at  the  smallest  cost 
to  the  community,  whether  we  consider  its  cost 
in  money  or  the  drain  it  entails  on  civic  life.  No 
man  is  constrained  to  spend  some  of  the  best  years 
of  his  life  in  garrison,  with  all  that  means  to  a 
young  man,  and  to  the  community  at  large. 

^La  Confederation  helvetique. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

WORKINGMEN'S    SOCIKTIES    AND    CO-OPKRATION 

IT  would,  perhaps,  be  hard  to  find  a  country  in 
which  workingmen  have  learned  so  well  the 

•  lesson  of  organisation  and  have  profited  so  much 
by  it  as  they  have  in  Switzerland.  This  has 
arisen,  of  course,  in  a  very  large  measure  from  the 
democratic  constitution  of  the  country;  but   an 

^  auxiliary  cause  has  lain  also  in  the  fact  that  there 
are  no  vast  accumulations  of  wealth  in  the  hands 
of  a  few  whereby  the  worker  could  be  starved  into 
submission  in  case  of  disputes.  These  influences, 
however,  do  not  cover  the  whole  field  of  causa- 
tion; many  other  circumstances  have  tended  to 
the  same  result,  not  the  least  weighty  of  them, 
possibly,  being  the  smallness  of  the  areas  and 
populations  involved. 

An  instance  in  point  was  the  agitation  which 
took  place  in  the  canton  of  Glarus  a  little  over 
thirty  years  ago  for  the  reduction  of  the  hours  of 
labour  in  factories,  which  in  some  cases  appear  to 
have  extended  to  fourteen  a  day.  In  a  statement 
of  their  aims  and  intentions  issued  by  the  factory 
workers  it  was  said:  *'  In  working  fourteen  hours 

194 


Workingmen's  Societies       195 

the  workman  gains  but  the  bare  necessaries  of 
life;  he  could  not  gain  less  with  a  day  of  eleven 
hours."  The  document  included  a  sentence 
which  is  very  characteristic  of  the  aims  and  out- 
look of  Swiss  workmen.  **  We  wish,"  it  said, 
* '  to  be  the  proper  guardians  and  defenders  of  our 
own  interests,  to  educate  ourselves,  to  read,  judge 
for  ourselves,  and  to  learn  to  understand  ourselves 
and  what  is  going  on  around  us. ' '  This  document 
was  issued  by  five  federated  societies  of  workmen, 
whose  cause  was  espoused  and  supported  by  two 
sections  of  the  Griitli  Society  belonging  to  Glarus. 
The  agitation  was  so  well  organised  and  con- 
ducted, and  was  so  well  backed  up  at  the  La7ids- 
gemeinde  by  Dr.  Nicolas  Tschudi,  that  it  was 
entirely  successful,  the  working  day  being  re- 
duced to  a  maximum  of  twelve  hours,  and  night- 
work  being  totally  abolished. 

The  Griitli  Society  above  named  is  one  of  the 
most  considerable  and  at  the  same  time  the  most 
generally  influential  of  all  Swiss  political  organ- 
isations. It  takes  its  name,  of  course,  from  the 
little  meadow  on  the  Lake  of  the  Four  Cantons, 
said  to  have  been  the  rendezvous  of  the  three 
legendary  founders  of  Swiss  freedom  —  Werner 
Stauffacher,  Erni  of  Melchthal,  and  Walter  Fiirst. 
Founded  in  1838  at  Geneva,  the  Griitli  Society 
soon  spread  its  ramifications  all  over  the  country, 
and  falling  shortly  under  the  direction  of  a  man 
of  large  ideas  and  wise  guidance,  it  became  a 
power  of  no  mean  order  in  the  land.     It  may  not 


19^  Swiss  Life 

since  always  have  been  under  the  inspiration  of 
Galeer's  noble  spirit,  although  it  appears  in  the 
main  to  have  worked  with  a  high  and  extremely- 
practical  purpose  in  view.  Albert  Galeer's  great 
idea  was  the  education  of  the  people;  but  the  ed- 
ucation he  had  in  mind  was  that  larger  one  of 
ideas  and  development  which  in  our  days  is  so 
much  lost  sight  of.  To  such  education  he  looked 
for  the  evolution  of  a  nobler  society  rather  than  to 
the  interference  of  the  State.  He  appears  to  have 
had  great  contempt  for  ' '  little  demagogues  and 
little  systems."  What  they  wanted,  said  he,  was 
"  a  great  demagogue  and  a  great  system."  The 
Griitli  went  through  a  period  of  persecution — in 
the  canton  of  Berne  more  particularly — because  it 
was  considered  dangerous  to  the  public  welfare. 
But  it  came  out  all  the  stronger  for  the  trial,  and 
has  never  since  ceased  to  exert  a  powerful  influ- 
ence  in  politics.  Although  composed  for  the  most 
part  of  workingmen,  there  is  a  strong  infusion  in 
it  of  men  of  the  professional  classes,  and  these, 
without  attempting  to  "  capture  it,"  have  tended 
to  broaden  its  outlook  and  purview.  Thus  Profes- 
sor Carl  Vogt  presided  over  the  proceedings  of  the 
Griitli y^/^  of  Geneva  in  1870,  and  other  equally 
prominent  men  have  identified  themselves  with 
the  association  in  other  parts  of  the  Confederation. 
Many  of  the  principles  now  enshrined  in  arti- 
cles in  the  Federal  Constitution  were  first  strongly 
agitated,  if  not  primarily  initiated,  by  the  Griitli. 
Among  such  may  be  mentioned  the  right  of  as- 


Workingmen's  Societies       197 

sociation,  the  abolition  of  military  capitations,  the 
Federal  law  in  regard  to  education,  the  guarantee 
of  personal  rights,  etc.  The  partial  revision  of 
the  Constitution  of  1866  having  resulted  in  no  ex- 
tension of  the  rights  of  the  people,  the  Griitleens 
at  once  set  on  foot  a  movement  for  the  complete 
revision  of  the  Constitution,  which  was  finally 
brought  to  the  successful  issue  of  1874.  It  is  not 
a  little  surprising  to  note  how  many  fruitful  ideas 
sprang  out  of  these  associations  of  workingmen. 
They  were  the  first  to  make  the  suggestion  of  a 
central  caisse  d' assistance,  of  people's  banks,  of  a 
central  labour  bureau,  of  a  Federal  school  of 
trades  and  industries,  of  conservatoires  of  arts  and 
crafts,  exhibitions  of  the  work  of  artisans,  and 
many  other  similar  ideas. 

It  was  in  connection  with  the  Griitli  that  the 
first  co-operative  association,  properly  so-called, 
was  founded,  although  the  Swiss  had,  almost  from 
time  immemorial,  been  familiar  with,  and  accus- 
tomed to  act  in  accordance  with,  its  spirit.  This 
was  a  natural  outgrowth  of  the  communal  spirit. 
For  instance,  in  Canton  Vaud,  all  the  young  men 
of  the  villages  go,  towards  the  end  of  the  winter, 
to  stay  a  few  days  in  the  woods,  to  fell  timber, 
and  to  bring  it  down  the  steep  slopes  to  where  it 
is  needed,  the  timber  and  the  fuel-wood  being 
either  divided  among  the  various  householders  of 
the  commune,  or  sold  for  their  benefit.  Out  of 
this  kind  of  associated  work  doubtless  sprang  the 
associations  of  peasants,  fairly  common,  who  join 


iqS  Swiss  Life 

funds  to  buy  meadows  and  fields,  and  cultivate 
them  as  co-owners.  In  nearly  all  the  cantons  are 
to  be  found,  too,  what  are  called  Burgernutzen 
clubs  or  associations  in  connection  with  the  com- 
munes. All  have  a  certain  right  or  property  in 
the  communal  lands,  and  they  will  either  cultivate 
them  in  common  and  divide  the  produce,  or  they 
will  hold  a  sufficient  number  of  cows  in  common 
to  supply  each  family  with  milk,  butter,  and  so 
forth.  This  kind  of  co-operative  helpfulness  ap- 
pears to  be  of  very  ancient  date  in  Switzerland, 
and  there  are  still  communes  wherein,  when  a  man 
sets  about  building  a  house,  all  the  carting  of  ma- 
terial required  is  done  by  his  neighbours,  and 
should  such  assistance  be  withheld,  he  regards  it 
as  the  result  of  some  ungracious  conduct  on  his 
part. 

It  was  not  until  1850,  however,  that  a  distribu- 
tive co-operative  society  was  formed  on  the  lines 
now  so  general.  This  society,  which  still  exists, 
was,  I  believe,  started  on  a  capital  of  seventy-five 
francs.  It  aimed,  in  the  first' instance,  at  nothing 
more  ambitious  than  the  cheapening  of  cigars  to 
its  members,  and  this  object  was  so  successfully 
attained  that  operations  were  presently  extended 
so  as  to  include  shirtings.  One  Carl  Biirkli  was 
the  father  of  this  association,  and  he  wrote  some- 
what later  in  regard  to  it:  '*  Individualism  and 
communism  are  the  two  extremes  or  poles  of  the 
society — and  there  it  is  cold ;  between  the  two  is 
the  happy  zone  of  the   association:    it  is  there 


Workingmen's  Societies       199 

where  it  is  good  to  live."  The  saying  is  an  apt 
one,  and  characterises  very  naively  the  spirit  of 
Swiss  socialistic  thought. 

The  Griitli  has  always  associated  itself  more  or 
less  intimately  with  socialistic  leanings,  and   it 
may  almost  be  said  to  have  adopted  the  formula 
of  Klein,  that  political  without  social  libert}^  is 
only  a  half-way  house.    Perhaps  those  sections  be- 
longing  to   French   Switzerland  were   the   most 
strongly  indoctrinated  with  socialistic  ideas — this 
perhaps  because  of  the  strength  of  the  French  and 
Italian  element.     The  Swiss  themselves  are,  as  a 
rule,  so  cool  and   practical   in   temper  that  it  is 
only   the  small  minority  who  are  carried  to  ex- 
tremes.    It  is  largely  owing  to  this  practical  and, 
I  must    add,   moderate,   temper  that   the   Swiss 
workmen  have   succeeded  so  completely  in  pro- 
tecting their  interests.     Industry  in  Switzerland 
is  regulated  by  the  law  relating  to  factories  of 
March  23,  1877,  ^^^  ^Y  ^^^  ^^^  regarding  the  civil 
responsibility   of  employers    of    July    25,    1881, 
amended   and   completed   by   the    law   of    1887. 
These  law^s  for  the  protection  of  workmen  are  the 
most  humane  of  any  in  Europe.     They  are  also, 
says  Marsauche,'  an  argument  against  those  who 
pretend  that  the   regulation  of  industry  by  the 
State  interferes  with   its    successful    operation, 
trade   and   manufacture  being  as  prosperous  in 
Switzerland  as  in  other  countries. 

Nothing  could  be  more  to  the  credit  of  a  society 
^  La  ConfM^ration  helvetique. 


200  Swiss  Life 

like  the  Griitli,  and  the  popular  Radical  Volks- 
verein,  with  which  it  worked  during  the  years 
which  brought  about  the  first  great  constitutional 
revision,  than  the  numberless  measures  of  a  popu- 
lar character  which  were  embedded  in  the  Federal 
Constitution  and  in  the  statutes  of  the  various 
cantons  as  the  result  very  largely  of  the  devoted 
advocacy  of  these  and  other  workingmen's  asso- 
ciations. One  matter  which  they  had  much  at 
heart,  and  which  they  succeeded  in  introducing  in 
many  cantons,  was  the  gratuitous  supply  of 
school  material.  Another  was  assurance  against 
a  time  of  non-employment. 

It  was  not  until  the  seventies  that  a  practical 
attempt  was  made  to  federate  the  various  societies 
of  workingmen.  This  first  federation  Schweizer- 
ischer  Arbeiterbund  numbered  about  ten  thou- 
sand members,  of  whom  four  thousand  belonged  to 
the  Griitli.  This  and  a  kindred  association, 
founded  a  few  years  later,  and  called  the  Swiss 
Social-Democratic  Party,  soon  went  to  pieces, 
however,  and  gave  place  to  three  other  associa- 
tions, one  being  a  federation  of  workmen,  and  the 
two  others  being  companionships  of  Social  Demo- 
crats, one  of  native  Swiss  and  the  other  of  Ger- 
mans in  Switzerland.  These  three  associations, 
together  with  the  Griitli,  always  vital  and  to  the 
fore,  and  a  number  of  German  workmen's  socie- 
ties, elected  a  common  committee  and  discussed 
their  affairs  at  a  general  congress  of  Swiss 
workers. 


Workingmen's  Societies       201 

Some  idea  of  the  strength  of  these  combined  or- 
ganisations of  Swiss  workers  may  be  gathered 
from  the  numbers  represented  at  the  congress 
held  at  Aarau  in  April,  1887.  In  addition  to  the 
Griitli  (with  thirteen  thousand  members),  there 
were  delegates  present  from  fourteen  other  socie- 
ties, numbering  in  all  something  like  one  hundred 
thousand  members.  The  federation  of  workers 
then  organised  took  for  its  aim  **  the  representa- 
tion of  the  economic  interests  of  the  working 
classes  in  Switzerland."  The  federation  appointed 
a  secretary,  whose  importance  has  grown  year  by 
year.  Indeed,  of  so  much  consideration  has  the 
office  become  that  the  Federal  Council  has 
thought  fit  to  attach  to  it  a  subsidy  of  twenty-fiv^e 
thousand  francs.  The  chief  secretary  is  aided  by 
two  assistant  secretaries  for  French  Switzerland, 
one  of  whom  is  stationed  at  Bienne  and  the  other 
at  Geneva. 

The  duty  of  this  secretarial  department  is  to  as- 
sist workmen  with  information  and  counsel,  and 
to  collect  material  of  a  scientific  and  statistical 
nature  such  as  may  aid  in  the  work  of  labour  leg- 
islation. It  has  been  found  to  be  useful  both  to 
the  Federal  Government  and  to  the  federated  so- 
cieties of  workmen,  whose  numbers  are  now  put 
at  something  like  two  hundred  thousand.  Those 
of  the  workers  who  are  of  a  more  independent  dis- 
position would  prefer  to  see  the  '*  secretariat  "  free 
from  all  dependence  upon  the  Federal  authorities. 
They  think  such  connection  might  tend,  under 


202  Swiss  Life 

certain  conditions,  to  less  freedom  of  action  than 
would  be  desirable.  However,  the  prevailing 
opinion  appears  to  be  that  the  Government  grant 
is  not  in  any  way  intended  to  influence  the 
opinions  of  those  who  benefit  by  it,  and  that  there 
is  no  reason,  in  this  as  in  other  matters,  why 
there  should  not  be  a  certain  amount  of  give  and 
take  between  the  parties  concerned. 

In  comparing  the  condition  of  Swiss  workmen 
twenty  years  ago  and  to-day  it  must  be  acknow- 
ledged that  there  is  evidence  of  a  remarkable  ad- 
vance, and  it  can  hardly  be  doubted  that  the 
change  has  been  brought  about  very  largely  by 
the  steady  pressure  the  workmen  themselves  have 
exerted  upon  the  Federal  and  cantonal  authori- 
ties. In  no  country  is  the  workman  treated  with 
so  much  consideration  as  here.  He  is  protected 
on  every  side;  nor  can  it  be  said  that  this  protec- 
tion amounts  to  coddling.  The  normal  working 
day  has  been  fixed  at  eleven  hours;  the  labour  of 
women  and  children  has  been  limited;  Sunday 
labour  is  allowed  only  in  exceptional  cases.  The 
factory  laws  have  been  extended  so  as  to  include 
other  branches  of  labour,  such  as  printing-ofiices 
and  watch- making  establishments.  The  responsi- 
bility of  railway  companies  for  w^orkmen  injured 
in  their  emplo}^  is  unlimited,  that  of  manufac- 
turers extends  so  far  as  to  require  them  to  pay  to 
those  hurt  an  indemnity  equal  to  six  times  the 
amount  of  the  sufferers'  yearly  earnings,  or  a 
maximum  of  six  thousand  francs  (^240). 


Working-men's  Societies       203 

Many  other  enactments  might  be  mentioned 
which  have  tended  to  the  amelioration  of  the  con- 
dition of  labour;  but  it  must  suffice  to  refer  to 
two  or  three  only.  For  instance,  by  recent  laws 
it  has  been  made  illegal  to  work  any  man  connec- 
ted with  railways,  trams,  steamboats,  or  the  pos- 
tal, telegraphic,  or  telephonic  systems  longer  than 
twelve  hours  at  a  stretch.  The  same  enactments 
require  that  all  employes  of  these  services  must  be 
allowed  from  eight  to  ten  hours'  rest,  according 
to  the  class  of  work  they  are  engaged  in,  and  that 
all,  without  exception,  shall  be  allowed  fifty-two 
days  of  rest  in  the  year,  seventeen  whereof  must 
be  Sundays.  Several  cantonal  laws  have  regu- 
lated the  work  of  apprentices,  and  limited  the 
work-hours  of  those  engaged  in  shops  and  public 
houses.  Thus  in  Zurich  the  law  for  the  protec- 
tion of  women  engaged  in  the  lighter  kinds  of  in- 
dustry, such  as  millinery,  dress-making,  and  the 
like,  has  fixed  the  hours  of  labour  to  nine  hours 
on  Saturdaj^s  and  ten  hours  for  the  other  days  of 
the  week.  M.  Theo.  Curti,  an  authority  on  these 
subjects,  remarks  very  emphatically  on  the  great 
improvement  in  the  condition  of  the  working  pop- 
ulation of  Switzerland  which  has  been  brought 
about  by  these  legislative  measures.  *'  Thanks  to 
them,"  he  sa3^s,  "  many  a  workingman  now 
enjoys  a  position  of  modest  comfort  and  well- 
being." 

This  improved  condition  of  things  is  un- 
doubtedly due  in  a  very  large   measure   to   the 


204  Swiss  Life 

democratic  Socialists,  of  whom  it  has  been  well 
said  that  they  have  done  more  by  what  in  Eng- 
land would  be  called  constitutional  methods 
than  has  been  done  by  Social  Democrats  with 
their  methods  in  other  countries. 

Side  by  side  with  these  political,  and  what  I 
may  term  fighting  organisations,  other  and 
equally  important  agencies  in  their  way  have  been 
at  work  improving  and  elevating  the  condition  of 
the  working  population.  I  have  already  referred 
to  the  natural  genius  of  the  Swiss  for  co-operation. 
Indeed,  it  has  been  claimed  for  Switzerland  that 
it  was  the  birthplace  of  distributive  co-operation. 
All  the  same,  it  was  not  until  they  had  adopted 
the  Rochdale  method  of  profit-sharing,  as  Dr. 
Hans  Miiller  acknowledges,  that  the  distributive 
societies  acquired  their  full  development.  Co- 
operative effort  takes  many  forms  in  Switzerland, 
such  as  mutual  assurance,  associations  for  credit, 
the  supply  of  water,  and  so  forth;  but  perhaps  the 
most  popular  of  all  the  ways  in  which  it  has 
shown  itself  is  that  of  the  People's  Bank — an  in- 
stitution which  possesses  thirteen  branch  estab- 
lishments, numbers  nineteen  thousand  members, 
and  has  a  capital  of  over  seventeen  million  francs. 
More  important,  however,  as  regards  the  trade  of 
the  country  are  the  associations  for  production 
and  sale  that  have  developed  so  enormously  of 
late  years  in  connection  with  agriculture.  Associ- 
ations of  the  kind  in  West  Switzerland  date  as  far 
back  as  the  beginning  of  last  century.    Several  in 


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Workingmen's  Societies       205 

Canton  Vaud    are   specially  noteworthy.      They 
have  to  do  with  the  production  of  cheege.     Similar 
associations  are  now  in  existence  all  over  Swit- 
zerland, and  they  have  proved  so  important  an 
adjunct  to  husbandry  that  it  would  now  be  impos- 
sible to  do  without  them.     In  all  there  are  up- 
wards of  fourteen  hundred  of  these  "  cheeseries  " 
{fromageries    in    French),    as    they   are   called, 
some  of  them  having  to  do  with  that  most  charac- 
teristic of   Swiss  cheeses,  the  Schabzieger,  made 
almost  exclusively  in  the  small  canton  of  Glarus. 
Another  form  of  productive  co-operation  is  that 
which  concerns  itself  with  the  rearing  and  the  im- 
provement of  the  breed  of  cattle.    Associations  of 
this  description  are  exceedingly   numerous,  and 
very  useful,  as  they  enable  small  farmers  gradu- 
ally to  improve  their  stock.    Other  associations  of 
hardly  less  importance,  and  equally  extensive  in 
their  operations,  are  those  having  to  do  with  for- 
est preservation,  arboriculture,  vine-growing,  the 
cultivation  of  tobacco,  etc.     Co-operation  in  re- 
gard to  the  sale  of  milk  has  not  proved  so  success- 
ful as  in  other  departments  of  agriculture;   nor 
has  co-operative  production  in  other  branches  of 
trade  and  industry  achieved  any  better  results  in 
Switzerland  than  it  has  in  England.      I  simply 
state  the  fact:  the  cause  of  this  failure  lies  pro- 
bably in  the  nature  and  character  of  those  brought 
up  to  trades,  and  it  would  take  too  much  space  to 
attempt  to  elucidate  it  here. 

But  in  the  same  measure  that  co-operation  in 


2o6  Swiss  Life 

the  department  of  manufacture  has  failed,  in  that 
same  measure,  and  even  greater,  has  it  succeeded 
in  the  department  of  distribution.  But,  as  al- 
ready said,  that  success  was  not  fully  realised 
until  the  Rochdale  principle  was  adopted.  Then 
followed,  quite  naturally  in  a  country  like  Switzer- 
land, the  federation  of  the  various  co-operative 
societies.  First  came  the  federation  of  the  agri- 
cultural ''co-operations"  of  East  Switzerland. 
This  was  followed  (in  1890)  by  the  union  of  retail 
societies,  composed  chiefly  of  workingmen  in  the 
large  towns  and  industrial  centres.  Finally,  in 
1898,  these  two  organisations  were  amalgamated 
in  one  general  federation  of  Swiss  co-operative  as- 
sociations. At  the  end  of  1899  the  total  number 
of  societies  of  consumption  in  Switzerland  was 
344,  with  a  membership  of  117,600  and  a  turn- 
over of  forty-six  million  francs.  In  these  figures 
are  comprised  a  number  of  agricultural  supply  as- 
sociations, which  are  essentially  societies  of  con- 
sumption. But  in  addition  to  these  there  are  in 
existence  some  four  hundred  organisations  wholly 
and  solely  for  the  purchase  of  stock,  seeds,  and 
other  matters  necessary  to  the  farmer.  It  will  be 
seen  from  this  digest  how  closely  the  two  classes 
of  workers— that  is,  the  artisan  in  the  towns  and 
the  toiler  on  the  land — are  associated  in  this 
work  of  social  economy;  and  when  it  is  further 
explained  that  the  Swiss  Federation  of  Co-opera- 
tive Associations  has  for  aim  and  purpose  the 
defence  of  co-operative  organisations  and  co-op- 


Workingmen's  Societies       207 

erative  principles,  and  for  the  dissemination  of 
knowledge  in  connection  with  the  same,  it  will  be 
understood  what  a  powerful  influence  it  is  exert- 
ing on  Swiss  life  and  thought. 


CHAPTER  XV 


RELIGIOUS  LIFE  AND  INFLUENCES 

MUCH  has  already  been  vSaid  in  respect  to  the 
religious  character  and  life  of  the  Swiss 
people,  and  I  do  not  propose  to  say  a  great  deal 
more,  except  to  show,  in  a  general  way,  how  the 
various  churches  are  organised,  and  how  they 
affect  the  life  of  the  different  cantons.  The  sharp 
divisions  existing  between  cantons  and  parts  of 
cantons  in  this  respect  constitute  one  of  the  most 
striking  peculiarities  of  Swiss  life,  and  indicate, 
in  a  very  marked  way,  the  effects  produced  by  the 
little  regard  which  was  had  in  the  past  for  re- 
ligious tolerance.  However,  all  that  sort  of  thing 
has  now  disappeared,  or  nearly  so.  The  Constitu- 
tion of  1874  proclaims  liberty  of  conscience. 
Throughout  the  Confederation  no  one  can  in  any 
way  be  molested  because  of  his  religious  belief  or 
non-belief;  nor  can  anyone,  according  to  the  Fed- 
eral law,  be  compelled  to  pay  a  tax  or  impost  for 
the  support  of  a  church  or  religious  organisation 
to  which  he  does  not  belong.  But  while  the  law 
of  the  Confederation  thus  enacts,  it  wisely  leaves 
a  certain  margin  of  action  to  those  cantons  which 

208 


Religious  Life  and  Influences    209 

still  recognise  and  subsidise  an  official  Church  or, 
as  in  some  cases,  more  than  one. 

The  Confederation  itself  subsidises  no  Church ; 
having  recognised  that  Churches  exist  and  need 
to  be  protected  in  the  free  exercise  of  their  wor- 
ship, it  leaves  the  matter  to  the  cantons.  But 
while  the  Federal  law  provides  for  the  absolute 
freedom  of  religious  opinion,  it  at  the  same  time 
leaves  no  room  for  those  who  claim  Swiss  citizen- 
ship to  shirk  civic  duties  on  the  ground  of  re- 
ligious conviction.  The  Doukaborsti,  therefore, 
would  not  find  Switzerland,  any  more  than  Can- 
ada, quite  the  ideal  place  to  live  in,  according  to 
their  view.  While  the  Confederation  is  thus  tol- 
erant as  regards  religious  opinion  and  the  free  ex- 
ercise of  worship,  it  reserves  to  itself  the  right, 
and  reserves  also  the  right  of  the  cantons,  to  sup- 
press or  eject  from  the  country  religious  organisa- 
tions which  are  dangerous  to  the  public  peace  or 
to  the  general  welfare.  Article  50  of  the  Consti- 
tution says  expressly  that  ' '  the  cantons  and  the 
Confederation  may  take  such  measures  as  may  be 
found  necessary  for  the  maintenance  of  public  or- 
der and  for  the  preservation  of  peace  between  the 
members  of  different  religious  organisations,  as 
well  as  against  any  encroachment  on  the  part  of 
ecclesiastical  authorities  upon  the  rights  of  citi- 
zens and  the  State. ' ' 

The  same  article  makes  it  illegal  for  bishoprics 

to  be  established  or  bishops  to  be  appointed  on 

Swiss  territory   without   the    permission   of  the 
14 


2IO  Swiss  Life 

Federal  authorities.  This  clause  was  introduced 
in  consequence  of  an  attempt  which  was  made 
by  the  Vatican  authorities  some  thirty  years  ago 
to  place  a  vicar-apostolic  over  Geneva  and  the 
neighbouring  canton  of  Vaud,  which  led  to  a 
somewhat  sharp  conflict  between  the  papal  and 
the  Federal  powers.  By  another  article  the  Jes- 
uits are  forbidden  to  establish  themselves  in  Swit- 
zerland or  to  have  anything  to  do  with  the  Church 
or  in  the  schools.  This  interdict  can  be  extended 
to  other  religious  orders,  if  they  are  deemed  to  be 
in  any  way  dangerous  to  the  public  peace.  It 
seems  strange,  but  the  Salvation  Army  was  con- 
sidered of  the  category  "  dangerous,"  and,  like 
the  Jesuits,  had  to  be  kept  curbed.  One  would 
think  it  unnecessary  to  proceed  to  such  extremes 
with  so  apparently  innocent  an  organisation  as 
the  Salvation  Army.  It  must  be  remembered, 
however,  that  the  "  Army's  "  methods  are  of  an 
exciting  nature,  and  it  would  require  very  little 
fanaticism  to  set  fire  to  a  community  like  that  of 
Switzerland,  in  which  the  two  dominant  sects  are 
so  nearly  balanced  as  regards  numbers  that  it  re- 
quires a  firm  hand  and  great  tact  to  keep  them  at 
peace  one  with  the  other.  The  task  is  not  an  easy 
one,  and  on  more  than  one  occasion  of  late  years 
the  Federal  Government  has  had  need  of  all  its 
wisdom  and  discretion  to  hold  the  more  inflam- 
mable elements  in  check. 

The  Kulturkampf,  which  made  such  wild  work 
for  so  many  years  in  German}^,  was  no  less  disas- 


Religious  Life  and  Influences    211 

trous  to  the  public  peace  of  Switzerland.  It  di- 
vided the  Catholics  into  two  sections,  and  though 
the  ' '  Old  Catholics, ' '  or  those  who  do  not  accept 
the  Vatican  decree  of  papal  infallibility,  are  a 
small  body  compared  with  the  Ultramontanes, 
still  they  constitute  a  power  that  has  to  be  reck- 
oned with,  seeing  that  they  include  not  a  few  men 
of  singular  prominence  and  force,  like  Herzog, 
Munzinger,  Michaelis,  and  Keller.  Happily,  the 
strife  of  religious  parties  was  ended  by  a  truce  in 
1878,  and  since  then  both  divisions  of  the  Catho- 
lic Church  have  worked  with  more  or  less  har- 
mony side  by  side.  It  may  be  said  here  that 
while  a  certain  number  of  convents  and  religious 
orders  do  exist  in  Switzerland,  it  is  illegal  to  add 
to  their  number. 

In  1889,  the  Old  Catholics  of  Switzerland  joined 
with  those  of  Holland  and  Germany  to  form  a 
union  which,  while  it  left  full  liberty  of  action  to 
each  community,  tended  greatly  to  strengthen  the 
body  as  a  whole.  Later  the  union  was  augmented 
by  the  adhesion  of  the  Old  Catholics  of  Austria, 
Italy,  and  America,  and  year  by  year  this  inde- 
pendent section  of  the  Catholic  Church  has  gone 
on  steadily  with  the  work  of  development  and  or- 
ganisation. In  no  country  has  it  a  better  record 
of  work,  according  to  population,  than  in  Switzer- 
land. Communities  and  associations  of  Old  Cath- 
olics, or  Catholic  Christians,  as  they  seem 
preferably  to  call  themselves,  exist  and  are  re- 
cognised by  the  State  in  the  cantons  of  Aargau, 


^12  Swiss  Life 

Basel  (Stadt  and  Land),  Berne,  Geneva,  Neu- 
chatel,  Schaffhausen,  Soleure,  and  Zurich.  There 
are  others,  not  officially  recognised,  in  the  can- 
tons of  Lucerne  and  St.  Gall,  while  smaller 
associations,  in  some  cases  not  fully  organised, 
communities  rather  in  the  making,  exist  in  the 
cantons  of  Aargau,  Basel-land,  Berne,  Geneva, 
Lucerne,  Soleure,  and  Zurich.  The  total  num- 
ber of  adherents  claimed  by  this  section  of  the 
Catholic  Church  in  Switzerland,  is  put  at  about 
forty  thousand,  while  the  list  of  its  clergy,  accord- 
ing to  the  Synod  of  1898,  includes  fifty-nine 
names.  A  very  important  service  was  rendered 
the  Old  Catholics  by  the  canton  of  Berne  in  1874, 
when  it  founded  a  chair  of  Catholic  theology  in 
the  State  University,  and  to  enable  students  to 
take  advantage  thereof,  bursaries  of  the  total 
value  of  one  hundred  thousand  francs  have  been 
founded. 

If  the  Old  Catholics  have  been  active  of  late 
years,  the  Ultramontanes  have  shown  themselves 
no  less  so.  After  the  rebuff  it  received  in  regard 
to  the  vicar-apostolic  of  Geneva,  the  Vatican 
wisely  drew  back  pour  mieux  sauter,  and  Mon- 
seigneur  Gaspard  Mermillod  was,  a  little  later, 
duly  recognised  by  the  Federal  Council  as  Bishop 
of  Lausanne  and  Geneva.  The  event  put  an  end 
to  a  state  of  things  that  was  no  less  dangerous 
than  exasperating  to  those  concerned.  A  number 
of  Catholic  priests  of  the  canton  of  Geneva,  not 
being  able  to  take  the  oath  which  the  new  ecclesi- 


Religious  Life  and  Influences    213 


'fe 


astical  law  imposed  upon  them,  saw  themselves 
replaced  by  others;  while  at  Zurich,  at  Berne, 
and  in  several  smaller  towns  the  supporters  of 
papal  infallibility  were  deprived  of  churches  which 
they  had  built  with  money  speciallj^  subscribed 
for  the  purpose — to  the  profit  of  the  Old  Catholics. 

Possibly  in  the  end  no  one  was  much  hurt  by 
what  had  taken  place,  the  awakening  through- 
out the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land  which  re- 
sulted from  the  stir  having  greatly  stimulated  the 
general  warmth  and  earnestness  of  the  religious 
life  of  the  country.  One  of  the  evidences  of  this 
new  spirit  was  seen  in  the  accomplishment  of  a 
hope  which  had  been  cherished  by  the  Catholics 
of  Switzerland  for  several  centuries,  namely,  the 
creation  of  a  university  at  Freiburg.  A  faculty 
of  philosophy  and  a  faculty  of  jurisprudence  were 
installed ;  then  to  the  faculty  of  theology  were  ap- 
pointed two  Dominican  fathers  and  two  secular 
priests.  Finally  a  chair  of  science  was  added, 
and  the  academic  edifice  stood  forth  complete. 
The  credit  of  creating  this  school,  which  has  been 
pronounced  ' '  the  most  important  work  of  the 
Swiss  Catholics  during  the  nineteenth  century," 
is  due  in  the  main  to  the  activity  and  intelligent 
appreciation  of  the  chief  of  the  department  of  pub- 
lic instruction  of  the  canton  of  Freiburg,  M. 
Georges  Python,  a  man  of  great  qualities,  and 
very  highly  and  deservedly  esteemed. 

As  already  stated,  the  organisation  of  religion 
is  an  affair  for  the  cantons  separately,  and  as  in 


214  Swiss  Life 

the  matter  of  religious  instruction,  and  almost 
everything  else,  so  in  this  regard  also  the  greatest 
diversity  obtains.  Each  canton  has  the  choice  of 
the  religion,  or  "  confession,"  as  it  is  usually 
termed,  it  will  adopt,  which  then  becomes  the  re- 
ligion of  the  canton,  and  is  supported  either  b}^  a 
special  tax  or  out  of  the  ecclesiastical  properties 
of  the  State.  Sometimes  the  revenue  is  derived 
from  both  sources.  Where  there  is  a  special  tax, 
no  one  except  those  belonging  to  the  established 
Church  of  the  canton  is  obliged  to  pay  it.  In 
some  cases  both  Protestants  and  Catholics  are 
equally  favoured  by  the  State.  This  is  the  case 
in  the  canton  of  Geneva,  where  there  is  also  a 
joint-consistory  for  the  supervision  of  the  religious 
instruction  of  the  young.  In  Neuchdtel  there  are, 
so  to  speak,  three  national  Churches,  for  with  a 
fine  breadth  of  tolerance  rarely  met  with,  the 
State  pays  towards  the  support  not  only  of  the 
Catholic  and  Protestant  Churches,  but  for  that  of 
the  Jews  also. 

In  the  Catholic  cantons  the  general  ecclesiasti- 
cal organisation  is,  of  course,  under  the  super- 
vision of  the  bishops,  of  whom  there  are  six, 
namely,  those  of  Basel,  Chur,  Sion,  St.  Gall, 
Lausanne  and  Geneva,  and  Freiburg,  besides  an 
apostolic  administrator  of  Tessin.  All  ecclesias- 
tical property,  however,  is  under  the  charge  of 
popularly  elected  local  bodies,  and  no  priest  can 
be  appointed  except  with  the  approval  of  the  secu- 
lar authorities.     In  the  purely  Catholic  cantons 


Religious  Life  and  Influences    215 

the  Church  has  immense  power,  or  perhaps  one 
should  say  influence,  for  it  consists  almost  wholly 
in  forming  opinion,  no  ecclesiastic  being  eligible 
for  public  office,  except  in  connection  with  Church 
administration.  Uri,  Schwyz,  and  the  Unterwal- 
dens,  Tessin,  Valais,  Schaffhausen,  and  Appen- 
zell-inner-Rhoden  are  almost  wholly  Catholic  and 
Ultramontane;  Aargau,  Thurgau,  St.  Gall,  the 
Orisons,  and  Geneva  are  about  equally  divided 
between  the  two  confessions;  while  Lucerne,  Zug, 
Soleure,  and  Freiburg  contain  small  numbers  of 
Protestants. 

The  only  cantons  almost  wholly  Protestant  are 
those  of  Vaud  and  Appenzell-ausser-Rhoden. 
The  latest  statistics  give  about  fifteen  thousand 
Catholics  to  Vaud  and  between  six  and  seven 
hundred  to  Ausser-'Rhoden.  Protestantism,  how- 
ever, predominates  very  largely  in  the  cantons  of 
Zurich,  Berne,  Glarus,  and  Neuchatel,  and  some 
of  these  being  among  the  most  populous  districts 
of  Switzerland,  they  bring  the  aggregate  bal- 
ance of  population  in  favour  of  the  freer  confession. 
In  other  words,  broadly  put,  Protestants  stand  for 
three  fifths  of  the  population,  the  remaining  two 
fifths  being  in  the  main  Catholic.  It  is  curious 
to  note  that  while  Catholicism  prevails  generally 
in  the  more  mountainous  districts.  Protestantism 
takes  the  lead  in  the  flatter  cantons. 

The  ecclesiastical  affairs  of  the  Protestant  can- 
tons are  conducted  by  mixed  authorities.  But 
the  constitution  of  the  same,  and  especially  the 


2i6  Swiss  Life 

organisation  of  the  Church  itself,  and  the  position 
of  the  clergy  in  relation  thereto,  are  extremely 
varied,  because  these  are  matters  which  come  un- 
der the  province  of  the  cantonal  authorities. 
There  is,  however,  a  general  resemblance,  and  a 
description  of  how  matters  are  arranged  in  Vaud 
will  give  a  good  idea  of  what  obtains  elsewhere. 
The  affairs  of  the  Church  are,  in  short,  governed 
by  a  Synod,  but  that  Synod  is  subject  to  checks 
and  control  both  from  above  and  below.  The 
origin  of  authority  is  the  parish  assembly,  which 
elects  a  parish  council,  consisting  of  from  four  to 
fourteen  councillors,  according  to  the  size  of  the 
parish,  and  the  local  pastor  or  pastors.  This 
council,  besides  having  a  general  supervision  over 
the  parish  as  regards  its  religious  and  moral  well- 
being,  sends  delegates  to  the  District  Council, 
which  is  again  concerned  with  the  general  gov- 
ernment of  the  Church,  although  its  work  for  the 
most  part  consists  in  selecting  deputies  for  the 
Synod,  in  inspecting  parishes,  and  in  supervising 
pastors  and  the  parish  councils.  The  deputations 
sent  to  the  Synod  from  each  District  Council  con- 
sist of  three  pastors  and  six  laymen,  all  chosen  by 
ballot;  but,  in  addition  to  these,  the  Synod  must 
include  professors  of  theology  connected  with  the 
canton,  and  three  delegates  chosen  from  the  State 
Council.  Its  meetings  are  annual,  and  take  place 
in  one  of  the  principal  towns,  which  is  always  se- 
lected the  previous  year.  The  duties  which  de- 
volve upon  the  Synod  are  such  as  concern  the 


Religious  Life  and  Influences    217 

general  welfare  of  the  national  Church — religious 
instruction,  the  books  used  in  worship,  discipline, 
the  ordination  of  pastors,  religious  festivities,  etc. 

It  will  readily  be  seen  what  a  wide  ramification 
of  activities  this  means,  and  how  much  it  enters 
into  the  public  and  private  life  of  the  people.  And 
when  it  is  considered  how  many  agencies  there 
are  besides,  auxiliary  to  these  more  regular  func- 
tions of  the  Church,  it  will  be  easily  understood 
that  there  is  little  time  for  stagnation  or  dulness 
even  in  the  smaller  rural  parishes. 

When  not  in  session  the  Synod  is  represented 
by  an  executive  committee  composed  of  three 
pastors  and  four  laymen,  by  whom  all  business 
brought  before  the  body  is  prepared.  Although 
the  Synod  has  to  do  with  the  ordination  of  pas- 
tors, it  does  not  choose  them.  The  method  of 
choice  is  as  follows:  the  candidate  for  the  pastoral 
charge  of  a  parish  in  which  a  vacancy  occurs 
must  send  his  name  to  the  cantonal  department 
of  public  instruction;  and  he  can  only  do  that 
when  he  has  completed  his  twenty-fourth  year, 
and  either  possesses  a  degree  of  the  University  of 
Lausanne  or  has  passed  the  examination  of  the 
Commission  de  Cofisecration.  This  body  consists 
of  four  delegates  from  the  State  Council,  eight 
from  the  Synod  (four  of  them  being  pastors),  and 
three  professors  of  theology  chosen  by  that  faculty. 
A  list  of  the  applicants  for  a  vacancy  is  sent  to 
the  parish  council,  whereupon  that  body  calls  a 
meeting  of  the  assembly,  which  proceeds  to  select 


2i8  Swiss  Life 

by  ballot  the  names  of  two  candidates.  These 
are  then  submitted  to  the  State  Council,  which 
finally  names  the  one  it  thinks  most  suitable  for 
the  post.  It  seems  a  roundabout  way  to  get  at  a 
very  simple  result  but  on  the  whole  it  works  well, 
and  gives  everybody,  as  it  were,  a  finger  in  the 
pie — and  therein,  in  truth,  consists  a  large  part 
of  wise  government. 

The  religious  life  in  the  Protestant,  or  strongly 
Protestant,  cantons  is  very  active,  and  in  none, 
perhaps,  more  so  than  in  Geneva,  where  things 
are  seldom  left  on  the  simmer,  least  of  all  matters 
theological.  The  city  of  Calvin,  small  though  it 
be,  is  in  the  world's  main  current,  and  few  are 
the  tides  of  thought  that  do  not  wake  a  responsive 
heave  of  the  waters  there.  Vaud  is  said  always 
to  have  shown  a  strong  sympathy  with  religious 
movements  in  Scotland.  In  Geneva  the  sympa- 
thetic link  is  rather  with  the  newest  wave  of 
thought,  whencesoever  it  may  come.  It  was  in 
that  city,  I  believe,  that  the  Eglise  litre — ^the  Free 
Church — took  its  rise,  spreading  thence  to  Vaud 
and  Neuchatel.  At  any  rate,  it  early  took  a  firm 
hold  there,  and  at  the  present  time  it  is  probably 
the  most  vital  religious  influence  at  work  through- 
out the  Confederation. 

It  is  interesting  to  note,  however,  that  in  this 
**  city  of  the  spirit,  built  of  stoicism  on  the  rock  of 
predestination,"  Calvinism  is  as  dead  as  Calvin 
himself.  And,  says  Dr.  Montet,  professor  of  theo- 
logy at  Geneva,  * '  si  da7is  la  Suisse  frangaise,  le 


Religious  Life  and  Influences    219 

Calvinisme  a  completement  disparu,  dans  la  Suisse 
alleTuande  V orthodoxie  trinitaire  d' origine  alle- 
ma7ide  n'a  qu'un  tres  petit  7iombre  de  represen- 
tantsy 

In  the  German-speaking  parts  of  Switzerland, 
however,  the  evangelical  churches  are  far  from 
possessing  the  same  complete  organisation  en- 
joyed  by  the  Eglise  libre  of  la  Suisse  romande. 
They  resemble  somewhat  in  general  features  the 
Congregational  bodies  in  England,  and  are 
marked  by  the  same  diversity  in  doctrine.  Of 
Lutheran  origin,  for  the  most  part,  the  Protestant 
community  is  now  broken  up  into  numberless 
sects,  in  which  Lutheranism  is  an  altogether  van- 
ishing quantity.  It  is  said  that,  among  other 
bodies,  the  Irvingites  have  their  little  knots  of 
believers  in  East  Switzerland  as  well  as  in  West. 
Be  that  as  it  may,  the  American  Methodists  cer- 
tainly have  a  strong  following,  and  one  of  the 
pleasantest  recollections  I  have  of  a  recent  visit  to 
Switzerland  is  of  a  little  group  of  young  men  and 
maidens  who  had  come  across  the  Atlantic  on  a 
twofold  errand  of  evangelisation  and  pleasure, 
their  destination  being  Zurich,  where  a  great 
Methodist  conference  was  to  be  held.  One  could 
not  help  thinking  that  if  our  friends  the  Ameri- 
cans continue  to  send  over  such  bright  and  en- 
thusiastic missionaries  they  will  stand  a  great 
chance  of  converting  the  whole  country  —  the 
youthful  part  of  it,  at  all  events. 

Still,    notwithstanding    the    earnestness    and 


2  20 


Swiss  Life 


activity  of  the  almost  numberless  sects  of  Christ- 
ians everywhere,  one  cannot  help  recalling  to 
mind  the  parable  of  a  little  sexton  of  Interlaken. 
Asked  why  the  bells  of  the  church  commenced 
to  ring  so  early  on  the  Sunday  morning,  he  said 
it  was  because  three  sects  used  the  edifice  one 
after  the  other.  **It  is,  perhaps,"  said  he,  "a 
sign  of  Christian  feeling  that  they  can  agree  to 
worship  in  the  same  building ;  but  it  would  be  more 
Christian  still  if  they  could  sink  their  differences 
and  assemble  all  together,  seeing  that  it  is  the 
same  Christ  we  worship." 


CHAPTER   XVI 


POPULAR  FKTES  AND   FESTIVAI.S 


THE  Swiss  throw  the  same  zeal  into  their  pop- 
ular y?/^^  and  rejoicings  which  they  throw 
into  almost  everything  else  they  take  in  hand.  It 
is  rare  that  they  can  be  charged  with  entering 
into  any  enterprise,  be  it  of  work  or  play,  in  a 
half-hearted  manner.  Thus  far  the  virus  of  ennui 
and  its  sequent  cynicism,  which  are  so  apt  to  at- 
tack and  to  enervate  great  and  successful  nations, 
have  not  touched  the  Swiss  people.  They  are  yet, 
as  it  were,  in  their  buoyant  youth,  with  the  man's 
task  still  before  them;  and  whenever  there  is  an 
undertaking  which  appeals  to  the  national  heart, 
they  apply  themselves  to  it  with  all  the  abundant 
energy  of  youthful  days.  In  nothing  is  this  spirit 
so  strikingl}^  shown  as  in  connection  with  some  of 
the  popular  /e^es  and  gatherings  that  break  the 
monotony  of  the  revolving  year. 

These  celebrations,  if  added  together,  form  a 
host.  They  are,  however,  of  two  kinds — first, 
national,  in  the  sense  of  uniting  the  suffrages  of 
the  whole  people,  and,  second,  cantonal.  Can- 
tonal /e^es    are    generally   of    a    semi-religious 


221 


222  Swiss  Life 

character,  as  celebrating  some  supreme  event  in 
the  history  of  the  canton — a  battle,  the  winning 
of  independence,  an  evidence  of  Divine  mercy,  or 
what  not.  Of  such  is  the  annual  feast  that  takes 
place  in  the  canton  of  Geneva  on  the  first  of  June, 
in  commemoration  of  its  union  with  the  Swiss 
Confederation.  It  is  held  religiously  as  a  gen- 
eral holiday,  and  the  day  is  always  opened  with 
service  in  the  churches. 

Another  celebration  of  the  kind  is  that  of  Nafels 
in  the  little  canton  of  Glarus,  which  is  held  on 
the  first  Thursday  in  April,  that  being  the  anni- 
versary of  the  battle  fought  there  against  the 
Austrians  in  1388.  On  the  9th  of  April  in  that 
year  some  six  hundred  men  of  Glarus  encountered 
a  force  of  between  five  and  six  thousand  Aus- 
trians, and,  utterly  defeating  them,  preserved  the 
independence  of  the  canton.  In  remembrance 
whereof  the  Glarner,  peasant  and  workman  alike, 
makes  his  way  on  the  day  in  question  to  Nafels, 
and  listens,  under  the  open  sky,  to  a  sermon 
tuned  to  the  occasion,  and  after  returning  thanks 
to  God  for  His  great  mercy  then  and  since,  grasps 
his  Fahrtstecken  with  a  tighter  grip,  and  goes 
homeward  again.  Many  other  celebrations  of  a 
similar  nature  are  to  be  met  with  in  various  parts 
of  Switzerland,  simple,  heartfelt  affairs  for  the 
most  part,  extremely  local  in  character,  and 
highly  characteristic. 

Very  different  are  the  more  general,  and  more 
truly  national, /^/^^  and  assemblages  that  mark 


Popular  Fetes  and  Festivals   223 

the  festive  season.  Of  these  the  most  noteworthy 
is  the  annual  shooting-match,  the  Tir  Federal^  as 
it  is  called  in  French.  This  is  held  at  a  different 
place  every  year,  most  towns  of  any  importance 
in  the  Confederation  having  been  the  scene  of  the 
Fest  at  one  time  or  another,  some  of  them  more 
than  once.  This  movable  nature  of  the  gathering 
tends  to  give  spirit  to  its  annual  recurrence,  each 
town  vying  with  its  predecessor  in  the  heartiness 
of  its  welcome  to  competitors  and  visitors  and  in 
the  splendour  of  its  preparations. 

These  shooting-matches  are  of  very  ancient 
date,  and  can  be  traced  back  to  the  fourteenth 
century,  when  Zaehringen  had  a  society  for  the 
encouragement  of  shooting,  and  Soleure  had  a 
Tir  aux  fleurs.  In  the  course  of  time,  however, 
these  and  other  societies  of  the  kind  fell  into  de- 
cay, and  it  was  only  after  the  effects  of  the  French 
Revolution  had  begun  to  crumble  away  that  the 
memory  of  the  old-time  shooting-matches  began 
to  revive.  The  improvement  in  firearms  tended 
to  strengthen  the  reawakening,  and  while  active- 
minded  Swiss  citizens  were  bus)^  in  other  direc- 
tions, establishing  their  societies  for  the  study  of 
natural  science  and  for  matters  of  public  utilitj% 
others,  whose  thoughts  turned  to  national  de- 
fence, were  launching  the  Swiss  Society  of  Cara- 
bineers. The  first  Federal  Tir  soon  followed,  and 
since  that  time  (1824)  the  festival  has  grown 
yearly  in  strength  and  importance. 

It  was   pointed   out  in    the  early    days    how 


2  24  Swiss  Life 

important  these  gatherings  were,  not  merely  for 
the  purpose  of  improvement  in  shooting,  but  for 
encouraging  a  love  of  the  beautiful.  There  is  no 
reason  why  the  two  things  should  not  be  cultiv- 
ated at  one  and  the  same  time,  and  they  have,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  been  so  cultivated,  though  it  may 
be  with  varying  degrees  of  success.  Another  aim 
which,  it  was  seen,  might  be  furthered  by  means 
of  these  national  gatherings  was  that  of  breaking 
down  that  spirit  of  local  patriotism — that  Kant'dn- 
ligeist,  as  it  has  been  so  well  called — which  for  so 
long  stood,  and  still  to  some  extent  stands,  in  the 
way  of  a  broader  and  more  general  progress. 
That  they  were  turned  to  good  account  in  this  re- 
spect may  be  seen  from  the  fact  that  it  was  at  one 
of  these  annual  gatherings  that  Dr.  Zidler,  of 
Zug,  started  the  movement  which  led  to  the  con- 
stitutional revision  of  1848.  Other  movements  of 
equal  importance  for  the  welfare  of  the  country 
have  had  their  initiation  at  the  banquets  of  these 
Schiitzenfest,  among  others — if  the  popular  mem- 
ory may  be  trusted — that  which  led  to  the  sup- 
pression of  the  Order  of  Jesuits  in  Switzerland. 

It  is  well  to  remember  these  things,  as  show- 
ing that,  notwithstanding  that  the  spirit  of  these 
fetes  is  in  the  main  festive,  underneath  that  spirit 
of  gladness  and  rejoicing  lies  a  very  serious  inten- 
tion and  endeavour.  Although  the  competitors 
and  visitors  assemble  at  the  place  of  meeting  de- 
termined to  enjoy  the  scenery  of  the  district,  the 
beautiful  weather,  and  the  open-air  life,  yet  they 


Popular  Fetes  and  Festivals  225 

never  forget  that,  before  all,  they  are  met  as  Swiss 
citizens.  Hence,  when  there  are  urgent  public 
questions  to  the  front,  the  sport  side  of  the  Schui- 
zenfest  is  apt  to  be  lost  sight  of  in  the  heat 
and  urgency  of  political  discussion.  For  your 
Schweizer,  workman,  merchant,  or  whatever  he 
may  be,  is  first  and  foremost  a  politician.  He  is 
rarely  loth  to  enjoy  '*  a  good  time,"  but  he  does 
not  forget  that  he  is  one  of  the  supports  of  the 
State,  and  that  if  he  neglects  his  duty  the  country 
may  neglect  him. 

If  the  Schutze7ifeste  had  a  modest  beginning, 
they  have  grown  and  strengthened  with  the  years. 
During  the  closing  years  of  the  century  just  past, 
the  prizes  reached  a  total  of  between  two  and 
three  hundred  thousand  francs,  and  the  number 
of  cartridges  spent  in  front  of  the  various  targets 
amounted  to  an  average  of  a  million  and  a  half, 
and  I  believe  at  last  year's  gathering  this  number 
was  exceeded. 

The  Society  of  Carabineers  numbered  at  the  end 
of  the  century  1348  sections,  with  a  membership 
of  between  sixty  and  seventy  thousand.  Its  in- 
vested funds  amount  to  146,000  francs,  and  since 
1899  it  has  subsidised  the  cantonal  sections  with 
a  view  to  encourage  and  stimulate  the  practice 
of  rifle-shooting  and  good-fellowship,  believing 
that  in  so  doing  it  is  advancing  the  interests  not 
only  of  the  Confederation  as  a  whole,  but  of  each 
individual  citizen. 

Next  in   importance   after  the   Federal   rifle- 
is 


2  26  Swiss  Life 

meeting,  whicli  is  held  in  June,  come  the  per- 
iodical gatherings  or  tournaments  in  connection 
with  the  various  gymnastic  societies  existing 
throughout  the  country,  and  the  different  clubs 
and  associations  for  the  encouragement  of  national 
sports  of  all  kinds.  These  assemblies,  in  what  may 
be  termed  their  national  aspect,  date  from  the  year 
1805,  when  on  one  of  the  few  bright  days  of  that 
rainy  year  an  ^Iplerfest,  or  feast  of  shepherds, 
was  held  near  the  ruins  of  the  Castle  of  Unspun- 
nen,  facing  the  chain  of  the  Jungfrau  and  its 
neighbouring  peaks.  It  was  simply  the  antique 
fete  of  the  mountain  people  enlarged  to  admit  of 
the  participation  of  other  cantons,  which  were 
cordially  invited.  Brilliant  was  the  gathering  of 
spectators,  some  from  the  far  outland,  to  witness 
this  unique  display,  and  great  was  the  emotion 
roused,  especially  among  the  Swiss  themselves, 
when  at  a  given  signal  the  procession  of  singers, 
players  on  the  Alpine  horn,  wrestlers,  and  throw- 
ers of  the  stone  made  their  way  into  the  arena 
around  which  the  spectators  were  gathered,  amid 
songs  of  welcome  and  the  moving  notes  of  the 
alphorn,  which,  echoed  and  re-echoed  by  the  sur- 
rounding heights,  stirred  the  hearts  of  the  native- 
born  to  their  profoundest  depths. 

The  Bernese  wrestlers,  famed  from  of  old  for  this 
sort  of  thing,  bore  off  the  palm  from  all  comers; 
but  it  was  to  a  sturdy  Appenzeller  that  fell  the 
prize  for  casting  or  putting  the  stone.  Other 
games  followed,  and  then,  as  the  evening  fell,  all 


Popular  Fetes  and  Festivals   227 

joined  in  the  dance,  under  the  shade  of  the  cen- 
tury-old walnut  trees,  to  the  sound  of  the  hack- 
brett  and  the  violin. 

When,  three  years  later,  there  was  a  repetition 
of  these  games,  six  thousand  spectators  assembled 
on  the  classic  ground  of  Unspunnen.  Madame 
de  Stael  was  among  the  number,  and  it  is  said 
that  the  procession  of  old  Swiss  notables,  founders 
of  their  country's  liberties,  made  a  very  deep  im- 
pression upon  her,  as  is  noted  in  her  work  on 
Germany. 

Down  to  a  very  recent  date  the  ^Iplerfeste^  or 
gatherings  of  mountain  shepherds  and  herdsmen 
for  the  purposes  of  sport,  were  the  only  fetes  char- 
acteristically national  held  by  the  Swiss,  and  of 
all  the  games  practised  thereat  that  of  wrestling 
is  the  most  ancient.  Everywhere  throughout  the 
Alps  the  art  is  cultivated  by  young  and  old  alike; 
but  in  no  district  is  it  brought  to  such  perfection 
as  in  the  Bernese  Oberland,  the  Emmenthal,  and 
the  vale  of  Entlebuch.  The  men  of  the  last- 
named  valley  in  especial  are  celebrated  for  their 
prowess  in  wrestling,  having  no  superiors  in  any 
part  of  Switzerland.  It  is  a  sight  to  see  them  on 
the  occasion  of  one  of  their  periodical  Schwing- 
feste,  as  they  are  called,  of  which  three  or  four  are 
generally  held  in  the  summer  months,  the  chief 
of  them  falling  on  the  first  Sunday  in  Septem- 
ber, when  the  stout  men  of  Entlebuch  pit  their 
strength  against  whoever  comes,  and  generally 
manage  to  hold  their  own.     The  Emmenthalers, 


2  28  Swiss  Life 

a  particularly  sturdy  race  of  men,  run  them  very 
close,  but  hitherto  have  been  bound  to  acknow- 
ledge the  precedence  of  their  neighbours. 

The  Swiss  method  of  wrestling  is  very  different 
from  the  English.  The  competitors  strip  to  their 
shirts  and  hose.  The  latter  are  of  twill,  and  are 
made  of  double  and  even  treble  thickness  at  the 
waist  and  knees.  The  right  hand  of  each  wrestler 
grasps  the  waistband  and  the  left  the  kneeband 
of  his  adversary.  The  head  of  each  looks  over 
the  other's  shoulder,  while  the  legs  are  kept  well 
apart,  and  the  left  as  far  back  as  possible.  The 
aim  of  each  is  to  lift  his  antagonist  and  get  him 
with  his  back  on  the  ground.  There  are  many 
different  methods  of  attack,  and  of  course  as  many- 
parries. 

One  of  the  special  features  of  these  ^Iplerfeste 
is  the  procession  known  as  the  ' '  departure  for  the 
Alps,"  in  which  everything  connected  with  the 
annual  start  for  the  mountain  pastures  is  gone 
through  as  though  it  were  the  actual  thing.  But 
in  addition  various  games  are  played,  including 
that  of  casting  the  stone,  wrestling,  etc. 

Nothing  seems  to  please  the  great  body  of  the 
Swiss  people  so  much  as  to  see  a  good  wrestling- 
match.  I  refer,  of  course,  to  the  great  mass  of 
those  whose  labour  is  mainly  with  their  thews  and 
sinews,  and  who  therefore  know  the  value  of  en- 
durance and  physique.  A  meeting  of  the  kind, 
such  as  takes  place  on  the  Ramparts  at  Berne 
every  Kaster  Monday,  is  sure  to  attract  a  con- 


Popular  Fetes  and  Festivals  229 

course  of  spectators.  These  particular  gatherings 
are  famous,  and  bring  together  some  of  the  stout- 
est wrestlers  of  the  Bernese  Oberland,  of  the 
Emmenthal,  as  well  as  of  Lucerne  and  the  Unter- 
waldens.  But  other  cantons  also  have  similar 
athletic  displays.  A  grand  festival  of  the  kind 
took  place  at  Zurich  in  1894,  when  a  Federation 
of  Swiss  Wrestlers  was  formed,  with  the  object, 
amongst  other  things,  of  preserving  the  national 
games.  The  last  fete  of  the  Federation  took 
place  at  Berne  last  year,  when,  in  view  of  the  pat- 
riotic aims  of  those  concerned,  a  particularly  in- 
teresting gathering  took  place.  The  intention  is 
to  revive  in  all  its  glory  the  old-time  Ailplerfest, 
or  feast  of  the  mountains.  It  may  be  doubted 
whether  they  can  do  that,  any  more  than  we  can 
revive  the  old  village-green  and  maypole  time. 
All  the  same,  it  may  aid  in  the  work  of  cementing 
the  Swiss  people  more  thoroughly  together  as  one 
nation — the  great  aim  now  of  Federal  politicians 
— to  revive  and  encourage  such  games  and  sports 
as  casting  the  stone,  playing  the  alphorn,  "  jodel- 
ling,"  joining  in  native  dances,  ballets,  and  other 
rustic  pastimes,  such,  for  instance,  as  the  Swiss 
form  of  rackets,  known  as  Hornus,  the  play  with 
flags,  etc. 

Very  popular,  too,  are  the  gymnastic  clubs  and 
societies,  which,  like  our  cricket  and  football 
clubs,  lead  to  a  good  deal  of  intercourse  between 
districts  and  cantons,  to  many  popular  gatherings 
of  one  kind  or  another,  and  every  three  years  to  a 


230  Swiss  Life 


grand  national/?/^.  These  gymnastic  gatherings 
date  back  to  the  time  of  I^udwig  Jahn,  the  "  father 
of  gymnastics,"  who,  by  his  enthusiasm  for  physi- 
cal culture,  did  so  much  for  the  physical  develop- 
ment of  German  youth.  The  idea  was  taken  up 
with  zest  by  the  students  of  the  Universities  of 
Zurich,  Berne,  and  Basel,  and  while  timorous 
politicians  regarded  their  meetings  as  nothing 
better  than  schools  of  savagery,  revolution,  and 
immorality,  they  were  in  reality  doing  a  patriotic 
work  for  the  common  country. 

It  was  not  long  before  gymnastic  societies 
sprang  up  that  were  not  connected  with  the  uni- 
versities, and,  the  idea  spreading,  there  was  a 
Federal  fete.  It  was  thought  that,  while  the 
Swiss  youth  were  thus  strengthening  their  bodies 
for  the  well-being  of  themselves  and  their  coun- 
try, they  would  be  drawn  together  more  closely 
in  the  bonds  of  patriotism.  For,  said  the  moving 
spirits  and  patrons  of  these y^/<?5,  there  is  nothing 
like  doing  things  together  in  order  to  learn  to 
think  in  common.  This  idea  was  soon  developed 
in  another  form.  It  was  soon  perceived  that  these 
gymnastic  societies  might  be  made  a  splendid 
means  for  military  education,  and  simple  gym- 
nastic exercises  branched  out  into  warlike  games. 

At  first  there  were  national  fetes  every  year, 
first  one  city  or  town  being  the  scene  of  the  func- 
tion, and  then  another.  Then  the  popular  meet- 
ing was  held  every  other  year,  and  finally,  since 
1888,  every  three  years.     But  what  the  gather- 


UJ 
CO 

D 
O 

X 

CO 

CO 
CO 


Popular  Fetes  and  Festivals   231 

ings  thus  lose  as  regards  frequency  they  gain  in 
brilliance  and  strength.  They  now  stand  out  as 
among  the  most  interesting  and  the  most  popular 
of  8wissy^/^5.  They  are,  in  especial,  \}oi^  fetes  of 
youth,  of  abounding  life,  of  enthusiasm.  It  is 
long  since  gymnastics  were  the  exclusive  ap- 
panage of  the  universities.  In  all  the  great  cen- 
tres of  industrial  life  such  societies  have  done 
much  to  improve  the  physique  and,  consequently, 
the  general  health  of  the  workers.  At  the  last 
meeting  but  one,  held  in  1897  ^^  Schaffhausen, 
there  were  5736  competitors,  of  whom  over  700 
took  part  in  individual  contests.  Two  hundred 
societies  took  part  in  sectional  contests,  while 
over  300,  including  foreign  societies,  were  repre- 
sented at  X\i^fete.  These  figures  were  consider- 
ably exceeded  at  the  next  triennial  gathering, 
held  at  Chaux-de-Fonds  in  1900.  At  that  time 
the  Federal  Society  of  Gymnastics  numbered  539 
sections,  with  a  membership  of  close  upon  40,000. 

One  of  the  most  striking  features  of  later  gath- 
erings have  been  the  exercises  in  groups.  At 
Geneva,  in  1891,  they  were  the  "  hit  "  of  'Ono.fete. 

At  lyUgano,  three  years  later,  some  three  thou- 
sand gymnasts  assisted  at  similar  evolutions,  and 
may  be  said  with  truth  to  have  caused  a  sensation. 
Everything  helped  thereto — the  place  of  meeting, 
with  its  century-old  trees  casting  a  grateful  shade, 
the  surrounding  hills,  built  as  of  emerald  and 
amethyst,  and  the  overarching  vault  of  heaven 
without  a  fleck  on  its  depth  of  blue.     Still,  few 


232  Swiss  Life 

would  have  anticipated  the  shout  of  pleasure 
which  burst  from  the  throats  of  the  thousands  of 
spectators  present  when  the  army  of  gymnasts  de- 
ployed, charged,  and  then  broke  into  the  full  run 
without  a  false  movement  being  seen  or  the  least 
deflection  of  line. 

Lugano  seemed  to  touch  the  high-water  mark 
in  more  ways  than  one.  Lugano  is  Italian  in  the 
richness  of  its  nature  and  in  the  spirit  and  tem- 
perament of  its  people,  and  there  was  at  once 
manifest  a  fine  rivalry  when  these  fine-built 
southerners  came  in  touch  with  the  stalwart  Teu- 
tons of  the  northern  slopes  of  the  Alps,  with  the 
elan  and  verve  of  the  men  of  the  French  cantons. 
This  heightened  the  zest  of  the  festival,  gave  it  a 
touch  of  emotion  not  often  present,  and  it  was 
thought  that  there  would  never  be  another  Lu- 
gano. But  when  it  was  seen  at  Schaffhausen  that 
the  number  of  competitors  had  increased — being 
only  one  or  two  hundred  short  of  four  thousand — 
while  the  exercises  d'e7ise7nble  were  still  as  fault- 
lessly executed,  the  entire  mass  of  spectators 
broke  into  thunders  of  applause.  And  why  ?  Be- 
cause it  was  felt  that  men  who  could  act  together 
with  such  perfection  of  unanimity  and  discipline 
constituted  a  material  of  the  rarest  kind  for  na- 
tional defence.  And  that  is  a  thought  ever  up- 
permost in  the  mind  of  the  patriot  Swiss. 

It  is  curious  to  note  how  the  peculiar  idiosyn- 
crasy, or  the  native  genius,  of  the  various  cantons 
makes  itself  felt  from  time  to  time,  and  as  the 


Popular  Fetes  and  Festivals   2 


JO 


need  arises.  To  Aargau  is  due  the  honour  of 
having  suggested  and  started  the  Federal  rifle- 
meeting;  to  Berne  chiefly  belongs  the  credit  of 
keeping  alive  the  national  sport  of  wrestling;  the 
Gruyeres  country  is  famous  for  its  Ranz  des 
vaches,  Appenzell  for  its  melodious  Jodel,  as,  in- 
deed, for  its  love  of  song  generally.  Hence  it 
was  fitting  and  in  accordance  with  the  genius  of 
its  people  that  Appenzell  should  take  the  lead  in 
regard  to  the  establishment  of  festivals  of  popular 
song. 

The  first  event  of  the  kind  took  place  so  long 
ago  as  1825  at  Speicher-Vogelinseck,  not  far  from 
the  Lake  of  Constance.  It  aroused  the  greatest 
enthusiasm,  and  other  cantons  were  soon  follow- 
ing the  example  of  Appenzell.  Then,  while  the 
Federal  idea  was,  as  it  were,  thick  in  air,  a  Fed- 
eral fete  of  popular  song — a  kind  of  Swiss  Eis- 
teddfod— was  inaugurated,  and  has  continued  ever 
since,  holding  its  gatherings  every  two  years, 
now  in  one  town,  now  in  another,  and  doing  much 
not  only  to  refine  and  elevate  the  people,  but  to 
encourage  oneness  of  national  sentiment  and  feel- 
ing. It  is  not  many  years  since  the  President 
of  the  Confederation,  at  one  of  these  meetings, 
praised  these  societies  of  popular  song  for  having 
promoted  unity  where  formerly  division  prevailed 
— that  is,  between  town  and  village — and  for  hav- 
ing tended  so  largely  to  ennoble  the  Swiss  people 
by  disseminating  a  love  of  music. 

They  have  certainly  developed  a  passionate  love 


234  Swiss  Life 

of  music  among  all  classes,  and  have  besides  had 
the  effect  of  bringing  out  not  only  a  large  number 
of  excellent  composers,  but  of  producing  also  a 
multitude  of  very  beautiful  songs — songs  which 
would  no  doubt  have  met  with  the  warm  approval 
of  IvUther,  who,  holding  that  "  notes  give  life  to 
words,"  thought  "  the  composer  ought  not  to  set 
to  music  sentiments  that  are  not  worth  the  trouble 
of  calling  to  life."  How  many  are  the  songs  that 
have  proved,  by  the  way  they  take  hold  of  the 
hearts  of  the  people,  that  they  well  deserve  to  be 
vivified  by  music  may  be  witnessed,  not  only  at 
the  great  festivals  of  song,  but  almost  daily  at  the 
more  local  gatherings  and/^/^5,  and  in  the  homes 
of  the  people. 

Such  songs  as  Stehe  /est,  O  Vaterland ! 
("Stand  firm,  O  Fatherland"),  Siegesfeier  der 
Freiheit  ("The  Triumph  of  Liberty"),  Die 
Schlacht  bet  St.  Jakob  ("The  Battle  of  St.  Jacob  " 
— the  Thermopylae  of  Swiss  history),  the  Serment 
dii  Gri'itli,  Auf  der  Kirchweih  zu  Schwyz  {''  At  the 
Church-feast  of  Schwyz  "),  O  meifi  Heimatland 
("  O  dear  Home-land"),  Trittst  im  Morgenrot 
daher  ("  Thither  in  the  Rosy  Morn  thou  goest  "), 
etc.,  may  be  heard  at  well-nigh  every  musical 
gathering.  The  last  especially  has  become  a  na- 
tional hymn. 

These  songs  are  all  of  German-Swiss  origin, 
and  it  must  be  confessed  that  German  Switzerland 
bears  the  palm  for  this  kind  of  talent,  although 
la  Suisse  romande  does  not  lag  far  behind.     Nor 


Popular  Fetes  and  Festivals   235 

is  it  in  any  way  behind  the  other  parts  of  the 
Fatherland  in  its  love  of  music.  This  may  be  seen 
by  any  passing  visitor  who  spends  an  evening  in 
the  English  Garden  at  Geneva,  or — a  treat  which 
foreigners  more  rarely  enjoy — attends  one  of  the 
frequent  concerts  of  sacred  music  in  the  cathedral 
church  of  St.  Peter.  For  this  love  of  music  is 
not  confined  to  popular  songs,  but  extends  to, 
and  has  a  deep  root  in,  sacred  compositions. 
This  taste  has  been  cultivated  by  generations  of 
talented  composers,  and  by  the  presence  and  en- 
couragement of  such  men  as  Wagner,  Liszt,  and 
others  of  the  foremost  rank  in  the  world  of  music. 
As  in  other  countries,  so  in  Switzerland,  church 
music  had,  by  the  free  introduction  of  melody, 
and  by  the  use  of  instrumental  accompaniment, 
become  brilliant  at  the  expense  of  what  may  be 
termed  solidity.  In  other  words,  its  note  was 
superficiality  rather  than  sincerity  and  depth, 
and  while  it  pleased  the  many,  those  of  simpler 
lives  and  truer  instincts  began  to  show  signs  of 
revolt.  It  was  complained  that  what  was  called 
stylish  music — la  chant  styli — had  almost  put  an 
end  to  the  once  popular  music  of  the  home  and  the 
familiar  social  gathering,  to  the  no  small  regret 
of  the  more  unsophisticated  children  of  the  moun- 
tain vales. 

A  striking  instance  of  the  reaction  against  this 
tendency  was  witnessed  at  a  recent  festival  at 
Berne,  when  the  mixed  chorus  of  a  Gesa7igverehi 
(Vocal  Union),   the  girls  of  which  appeared  in 


236  Swiss  Life 

their  quaint  native  costumes,  took  the  audience 
by  storm;  the  air  's  Vreneli  ab'  e7n  Guggisberg  \vl 
especial  producing  something  like  the  effect  of  a 
sudden  revelation.  Such  awakenings  are  always 
a  healthy  sign,  and  though  there  can  be  no  going 
back  wholly  to  the  music  of  the  past,  it  is  ever 
well  for  the  outworn  giant  of  civilisation,  like 
Antaeus,  to  seek  refreshment  and  renewal  at  the 
breast  of  the  great  mother.  Such  a  revival  is,  in 
particular,  making  itself  felt  in  regard  to  church 
music:  the  societies  of  St.  Cecilia  all  over  the 
Confederation  working  with  zeal  for  a  return  to 
the  Gregorian  chant  and  to  the  diatonic  of  the 
ancient  music  of  the  Church. 

This,  however,  as  a  note  by  the  way.  As  re- 
gards the  Federal  musical  festivals,  it  is  thought 
that  the}^  have  in  the  past  favoured  too  exclu- 
sively the  cultivation  of  the  male  voice,  to  the  de- 
triment of  mixed  choirs,  and  it  is  probable  that  a 
change  will  be  called  for  in  this  respect.  There 
are  those,  indeed,  who  think  that  the  Federal /^/^ 
idea  has  been  overdone,  especially  as  regards 
these  vocal  societies,  and  that  some  reform  or 
modification  is  necessary.  At  the  last  gathering, 
held  at  Berne  in  1899,  a  huge  building  had  to  be 
erected  to  accommodate  six  thousand  singers  and 
ten  thousand  spectators.  The  effect  produced  by 
these  great  masses  of  voice  was,  of  course,  pro- 
digious, but  it  was  felt  by  many  that  this  form  of 
national  rivalry  is  carried  too  far,  and — consider 
ing  that  there  are  other  Federal  gatherings  all 


Popular  Fetes  and  Festivals  237 

tending  to  grow  larger  and  larger — perhaps  the 
criticism  is  justified. 

There  is  still  another  kind  of  celebration  very 
popular  among  these  free  and  vigorous  people, 
and  that  is  the  Festspiel.  The  Festspiel  is  the 
national  drama  of  the  Swiss;  it  takes  place  in  the 
open  air;  and  its  whole  aim  and  object  is  to 
glorify  and  keep  in  remembrance  the  great  his- 
torical events  of  the  country,  and  to  rejoice  the 
common  heart  by  the  representation  of  stirring 
scenes  from  the  everyday  life  of  the  people.  In 
the  Middle  Ages  the  Swiss,  like  other  European 
people,  had  their  carnivals  (relics  of  a  still  more 
ancient  time),  their  Mystery  and  Morality  plays, 
and,  as  a  growth  from  these,  their  '  *  days  of  com- 
memoration "  ;  these  latter  being  marked  by  pub- 
lic representations  of  events  calculated  to  warm  the 
patriotic  heart.  At  Lumbrein,  in  the  Romansch 
part  of  the  Grisons,  there  is  still  a  representation 
of  our  Lord's  Passion,  which  is  held  every  thirty 
years,  the  last  performance  whereof  took  place  in 
1882,  when  a  very  deep  impression  was  made  upon 
the  large  throng  of  spectators  who  witnessed  it. 
There  is  still  a  survival  of  the  old  carnival  plays 
to  be  seen  in  the  canton  of  Berne,  in  what  is 
known  as  the  Shrove  Monday  procession  {Hirs- 
viontagsumzug).  Formerly  it  comprised  biblical 
dramas;  later  these — probably  under  Protestant 
influence — gave  place  to  patriotic  representations, 
and  in  particular  to  scenes  from  the  life  of  Wil- 
liam Tell.     These  were  intermingled  with   the 


238  Swiss  Life 

buffooneries  of  Merry-andrews  and  Jack -puddings, 
and  with  wild  and  often  burlesque  dances.  As 
another  type  of  the  same  sort  of  thing  may  be 
mentioned  the  Fete  des  Vignerons  of  Vevey,  re- 
ferred to  in  another  place. 

With  the  re-establishment  of  the  Confederation 
on  its  old  basis  in  the  early  part  of  last  century, 
and  the  entrance  into  it  of  several  new  cantons, 
the  Festspiel  leapt  into  renewed  life.  In  1828,  at 
Kussnacht,  for  instance,  scenes  from  the  life  of 
Tell  were  represented  beneath  the  open  sky. 
More  recently  the  people  of  Altstatten  commem- 
orated the  battle  of  Stoss  on  the  very  scene  of  the 
fight.  Gradually  the  taste  for  this  more  modern 
form  of  the  Festspiel  has  extended,  and  with  it  has 
grown  a  desire  to  make  its  representations  conform 
more  rigidly  to  the  laws  of  dramatic  art.  Wil- 
liam Tell  is  a  stock  subject,  Schiller's  play  being 
the  text  generally  chosen.  Cham,  Brugg,  and 
Altstatten,  among  other  places,  have  distin- 
guished themselves  by  staging  it,  so  to  speak,  on 
its  "  native  heath  "  ;  while  at  Altdorf  and  Hoch- 
dorf  special  buildings  have  been  put  up  to  accom- 
modate these  popular  representations. 

With  the  provision  of  such  accessories,  how- 
ever, the  special  feature  of  the  Festspiel  disap- 
pears. It  is  essentially  an  outdoor  performance, 
a  thing  for  the  winds  to  play  on,  and  for  the  sun- 
shine to  illumine.  When  it  ceases  to  be  that  it 
becomes  the  theatre  simply,  which  is  another 
matter. 


Popular  Fetes  and  Festivals  239 

The  Fcstspiel,  as  at  present  understood,  may  be 
said  to  date  from  the  year  1886,  when  a  grand 
popular  festival  took  place  at  Sempach  in  honour 
of  the  fiv^e  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  battle  in 
which  Arnold  of  Winkelried  performed  the  deed 
of  valour  celebrated  in  Wordsworth's  lines: 

**  He  of  battle-martyrs  chief! 
Who,  to  recall  his  daunted  peers, 
For  victory  shaped  an  open  space, 
By  gathering  with  a  wide  embrace, 
Into  his  single  heart,  a  sheaf 
Of  fatal  Austrian  spears." 

The  old-time  Festspiel  consisted  of  a  procession 
and  a  cantata ;  but  in  this  instance  the  composer 
of  the  music  for  the  occasion,  Arnold,  produced  a 
full-blow^n  drama,  which  was  so  ably  and  so  artist- 
ically interpreted  by  the  Lucerners  that  hence- 
forth the  Festspiel  was  a  new  thing.  What  was 
done  at  Sempach  was  improved  upon  at  Schwyz 
in  1 89 1  (August  ist  and  2d)  on  the  occasion  of  the 
fete  celebrating  the  birth  of  the  Confederation, 
and  at  the  festival  commemorating  the  foundation 
of  the  city  of  Berne  on  the  23d  and  24th  of  the 
same  month.  In  each  case  men  of  the  highest 
talent  prepared  the  music  and  words  of  the  com- 
positions, and  in  each  case  the  dramatic  ensemble 
was  so  vivid  and  lifelike,  the  scenes  from  which 
the  nation  took  its  birth,  so  to  speak,  so  naturally 
and  yet  so  powerfully  depicted,  that  the  specta- 
tors were  stirred  with  the  deepest  emotion  on  see- 
ing them. 


240  Swiss  Life 

Other  similar  celebrations  followed  in  quick 
succession.  Amongst  them  may  be  mentioned 
the  Festspiel  of  Little  Basel  in  1893,  i^  which 
Wackernagel  and  Franz  Huber  collaborated  in 
the  production  of  the  words  and  music  respec- 
tively. In  1895,  ^^  the  occasion  of  the  Federal 
Tir  at  Winterthur,  a  Festspiel  was  performed 
glorifying  the  history  of  that  town,  the  text  of 
the  work  being  by  Leonhardt  Steiner,  and  the 
music  by  Lothar  Kempter.  In  1898,  Neuchatel 
celebrated  the  fifth  centenary  of  the  republic  of 
Neuchatel  in  twelve  tableaux,  the  poem  and  the 
music  respectively  being  the  work  of  Philippe 
Godet  and  M.  Lauber.  The  Marche  des  Ar- 
7nou7dns  of  this  piece  was  justly  admired,  and  has 
ever  since  been  a  popular  favourite.  La  Suisse 
romande  throws  itself  into  these  Festspiele  with  as 
much  fervour  and  enthusiasm  as  the  German- 
speaking  cantons,  and  one  of  the  most  noted 
makers  of  them  is  A.  Ribaux.  His  dramatic  com- 
position, Julia  Alpinula,  was  played  in  the  old 
Roman  amphitheatre  at  Avenches;  his  Charles  le 
TimSraire  at  Grandson,  the  scene  of  the  battle; 
and  his  third  Festspiel,  Reine  Berthe,  at  Payerne, 
the  scene  of  the  legend  which  forms  the  theme  of 
the  piece.  This  latter  was  performed  in  1899,  and 
was  greatly  admired  both  for  its  fine  declamatory 
passages  and  for  its  ballets  and  dances. 

The  same  year  a  series  of  Festspiele  took  place 
in  commemoration  of  the  battles  of  the  Swabian 
War.     The  first  was  held  at  Calven,  and  it  speaks 


Popular  Fetes  and  Festivals  241 

much  for  the  entrancing  nature  of  the  performance 
that  the  spectators  were  enabled  to  sit  it  out  in 
spite  of  a  continuous  downpour  of  rain.  The 
secret  of  the  spell  lay  in  the  cunning  use  the 
authors  had  made  of  the  songs,  costumes,  legends, 
and  even  of  the  games  of  the  district  celebrated. 
This  fete  was  followed  by  one  at  Schwaderlock, 
in  Thurgau,  when  the  standards  of  all  the  cantons 
that  had  contingents  at  the  battle  of  Dornach 
(1499)  were  seen  upon  the  open-air  stage  near  the 
ancient  castle  from  which  the  fight  took  its  name, 
mingling  in  the  stirring  scenes  of  turmoil  and  wai 
which  came  up  for  representation.  Then  anothei 
phase  of  the  same  theme  was  celebrated  by  the 
people  of  Soleure  on  a  meadow  near  their  chief 
town.  For  the  text  of  this  Festspiel  Adrian  von 
Arx  was  responsible,  as  was  A.  Munzinger  for 
that  of  Schwaderlock,  and  both  plays  were  re- 
markable for  that  warlike  movement  and  * '  go, ' ' 
which,  mingled  with  song  and  the  sharp  staccato 
of  the  drum,  never  fail  to  fire  the  martial  heart 
of  the  Swiss.  The  battle  of  Dornach  was  again 
celebrated  in  Jul}^  of  the  present  year,  on  the  occa- 
sion of  the  festivities  in  commemoration  of  the 
entrance  of  Basel  into  the  Confederation. 

Other  fetes  of  the  kind  might  be  referred  to,  as, 
for  instance,  that  of  the  Escalade,  which  the 
Genevese  celebrate  processionally  every  year  on 
the  night  of  December  nth  and  12th ;  but  enough 
has,  perhaps,  been  said  to  show  how  largely  the 
Festspiel  figures  in  the  life  and  habits  of  the  Swiss, 

i6 


242 


Swiss  Life 


and  how  deep  is  the  impression  it  is  calculated  to 
make  upon  the  character  of  a  people  who,  what- 
ever their  present  faults  and  shortcomings,  can 
always  point  to  a  sturdy  and  heroic  past,  while  to- 
day they  still  manifest  strivings  towards  an  ideal 
which  greater  nations  might  emulate  to  their 
advantage. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

LITERATURE   AND  THE  PRESS 

IN  dealing  with  this  twofold  subject  it  will  be 
convenient  to  reverse  what  would  appear  to 
be  the  natural  order,  and  commencing  with  the 
Press,  refer  later  to  some  of  the  more  salient  fea- 
tures which  strike  the  stranger  in  the  current  lit- 
erature of  Switzerland.  This  plan  commends 
itself  the  more  because  what  there  is  of  specifically- 
Swiss  literature  is  allied  very  closely  with,  and 
may  almost  be  said  to  spring  out  of,  the  periodical 
and  newspaper  Press  of  the  country.  This  may 
also  be  the  case  in  other  countries,  but  not,  I 
think,  to  the  same  degree  as  in  Switzerland, 
where  the  people  are  for  the  most  part  so  poor  and 
so  hard-worked  that  they  have  little  leisure  for 
reading,  even  if  they  had  the  means  to  purchase 
books.  All,  however,  or  nearly  all,  manage  to 
supply  themselves  with  the  newspaper,  and  to 
read  it.  It  is  rare  to  pass  through  a  village  of 
any  size  in  which  there  is  not  a  shop  for  the  sale 
of  newspapers;  almost  rarer  still  to  enter  a  house 
in  which  a  newspaper  will  not  be  seen  lying  about 
or  on  the  shelf  with  the  usual  books  of  devotion. 

243 


244  Swiss  Life 

This  habit  of  newspaper-reading  among  the 
Swiss  has  grown  enormously  of  late  years.  Half 
a  centurj^  ago  the  post-office  had  to  deal  with  be- 
tween ten  and  eleven  millions  of  newspapers  and 
periodicals  annually.  In  1895,  the  number  had 
grown  to  eighty-nine  and  a  half  millions,  which 
for  a  population  of  three  millions  is  a  very  respect- 
able figure,  though  it  has  largely  increased  dur- 
ing the  intervening  six  years. 

In  1896  there  were  1003  newspapers  and  serial 
publications  appearing  simultaneously  in  Switzer- 
land, and  the  number  has  since  been  considerably 
augmented.  Out  of  the  total  five  only  are  over  a 
century  old.  These  are  the  Freitagzeitung  of 
Zurich,  founded  in  1683,  the  Journal  d' Yverdon 
(1773),  the  Neue  Zurcher  Zeitung  (1780),  the 
Nouvelliste  Vaudois,  and  the  Gazette  de  Lausanne 
(1798).  Of  the  total  number  of  newspapers  ap- 
pearing in  Switzerland  584  are  printed  in  Ger- 
man, 326  in  French,  43  in  several  languages,  36 
in  Italian,  6  in  English,  3  in  Romansch,  and  2  in 
other  languages.  The  larger  proportion  of  these 
publications  are  of  local  importance  only,  while  a 
certain  number  are  merely  periodicals  devoted  to 
entertainment  or  amusement,  some  of  them,  as 
may  be  imagined,  of  a  not  very  high  order. 

The  most  important  newspapers  in  the  Confed- 
eration are:  in  French,  \h&  Journal  de  Ge?ieve,  the 
Gazette  de  Lausanne;  in  German,  the  Easier 
Nachrichten,  National  Zeitung^  and  the  Allgemeine 
Schweizer  Zeitung  of  Basel,  Der  Bund  and  the 


Literature  and  the  Press      245 

Berner  Tagblatt  of  Bern,  the  Neue  Zurcher  Zeitu7ig 
and  Die  Zurcher  Post  of  Zurich,  and  the  Vaterland 
of  Lucerne.  Of  these  the  Bund,  the  Basler  Nach- 
richten,  the  National  Zeitung,  and  the  Zurcher 
Post  are  Radical;  the  Journal  de  Geyieve,  the 
Gazette  de  Lausanne,  and  the  Neue  Zurcher  Zei- 
tung  are  Liberal ;  while  the  Allgemeine  Schweizer 
Zeitung  and  the  Vaterland,  the  former  Protestant, 
and  the  latter  Catholic,  are  Conservative.  The 
Vaterland  is  regarded  as  the  special  organ  of  the 
Catholic  Conservatives  of  German  Switzerland, 
just  as  Der  Bund  is  the  mouthpiece  of  Radicalism 
throughout  the  German-speaking  cantons.  Ever 
since  its  inception  the  Bund  has  been  a  power  in 
the  Confederation,  and  has  done  yeoman  service 
in  the  cause  of  progress  and  enlightenment,  al- 
though it  may  at  times  have  allowed  itself  to  be- 
come too  deeply  submerged  in  the  Kantmiligeisf 
of  Bernese  party  politics. 

Among  other  newspapers  worthy  of  note  may 
be  mentioned  the  Bundner  Nachrichten  of  Chur, 
the  recognised  organ  of  the  Radical  party  in  the 
Grisons;  and  the  Neuchdtelois,  the  Suisse  Lib- 
erate, and  the  Natio7ial  Suisse,  all  of  Neuchatel, 
and  representing  the  Conser\^ative,  the  Liberal, 
and  the  Radical  sections  of  the  communit}^  re- 
spectively. The  last-named  journal  was  for 
many  years  edited  by,  and  still  numbers  amongst 
its  most  assiduous  collaborators,  the  well-known 
publicist  M.  Numa  Droz.  The  Suisse  Liber  ale 
also  long  had  for  editor  a  man  otherwise  of  note 


246  Swiss  Life 

in  the  literary  world,  namely,  M.  Philippe  Godet, 
the  author,  among  other  works,  chiefly  poetic,  of 
V Histoire  litteraire  de  la  Suisse  fra^igaise. 

In  addition  to  the  Liberal  Gazette  de  Lausanne^ 
Vaud  possesses  two  other  organs  of  some  import- 
ance. There  is  the  Nouvelliste  Vaudois,  which 
voices  the  modified  Radicalism  of  what  may  be 
called  the  country  party — the  cultivators,  that  is, 
who  live  and  work,  not  on  the  telegraph  wire,  but 
according  to  the  slow  and  deliberate  procession  of 
the  seasons.  For  that  section  of  the  same  party 
which  finds  the  Campagnard  and  his  bucolic 
ways  and  ideas  slow,  there  is  the  Revue,  ardent 
and  advanced  enough  for  most  of  its  mode  of 
thinking,  albeit  not  **  way-breaking "  in  any 
special  sense.  Equally  advanced,  and  much  more 
readable,  is  the  Genevois,  a  really  spirited  little 
paper,  full  of  matter,  and  always  enjoyable, 
whether  one  agrees  with  all  its  views  or  not. 
When  weary  of  English  polemics,  it  is  a  treat  to 
take  up  the  Genevois  and  see  the  able  way  in 
which  it  deals  with  subjects  of  current  interest. 
In  general  the  Swiss  newspaper,  indeed,  fills  to 
its  readers  the  place  occupied  in  our  lives  by  the 
popular  magazine,  and  its  literature  is  often  of  a 
very  high  order.  This  will  in  part  be  understood 
when  it  is  said  that  the  bearers  of  some  of  the 
foremost  names  in  Swiss  letters  have  been  identi- 
fied with  the  newspaper  Press  as  editors  and  col- 
laborators. I  have  already  mentioned  several;  to 
them  may  be  added  Gottfried  Keller,  the  greatest 


Literature  and  the  Press      247 

among  Swiss  writers  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
who  was  for  a  time  on  the  staff  of  the  Neue  Zur- 
cher  Zeitung,  which  journal  had  the  honour  also 
of  giving  to  the  Swiss  Confederation,  in  the  per- 
son of  Jonas  Furrer,  its  first  President. 

Among  the  newspapers  distinguished  for  their 
purel}^  literary  contents,  the  Journal  de  Geneve 
ranks  of  long  right  wnth  the  first.  For  many 
years  it  had,  in  M,  Jacques  Adert,  an  editor  who, 
besides  being  a  born  administrator,  was  a  man  of 
high  literary  gifts,  and  a  Hellenist  of  the  first 
water.  Under  his  direction  it  gradually  fought 
its  way  to  the  eminent  position  in  the  newspapei' 
world  which  it  still  continues  to  occupy,  thanks 
to  the  talented  publicist  who  to-day  directs  its 
fortunes. 

If  the  Gazette  de  Lausanne  does  not  hold  so 
prominent  a  position  internationally  as  the  last- 
named  organ,  it  enjoys  an  equally  important  place 
in  the  esteem  of  those  who  love  good  and  healthy 
literature,  and  who  like  to  be  kept  informed  as 
to  the  general  movement  of  thought.  This  in 
especial  is  the  leading  feature  of  the  Vaudois  or- 
gan of  Liberalism,  and  it  has  gained  for  it  a  place 
second,  perhaps,  to  none  among  cultivated  read- 
ers. That  the  Gazette  has  been  able  to  win  for 
itself  a  portion  of  such  distinction  is  due  to  its 
having  been  fortunate  enough  to  secure  for  its 
editorial  chair  a  succession  of  men  of  conspicuous 
ability,  although  all  of  them,  perhaps,  were  not 
so  gifted  as  Victor  Tissot,  the  author  of  a  Voyage 


248  Swiss  Life 

ail  pays  des  Tnilliards.  But  while  these,  and  the 
other  newspapers  I  have  mentioned,  hold  high 
rank  for  their  literary  contents,  possibly  most 
judges  would  accord  the  first  place,  even  in  this 
respect,  to  the  Bund,  whose  literary  supplement, 
edited,  I  believe,  for  upwards  of  twenty  years  by 
Herr  J.  V.  Widmann,  has  done  much  to  make 
that  journal  acceptable  and  even  popular  in 
quarters  where  its  politics  would  never  have  se- 
cured it  a  welcome. 

One  might  speak  of  the  minor  Press,  of  the 
small  local  papers,  insignificant  in  appearance, 
and  apparently  of  little  importance,  but  in  reality 
powerful  in  their  way,  because  their  readers  are 
apt  to  take  all  they  say  as  gospel,  and  so  to  be 
swayed  in  their  political  opinions  by  them.  Of 
this  class  es^>ecially  are  the  Tessinese  papers.  Ar- 
dent and  entiiusiastic  in  their  advocacy  of  the  side 
they  take,  thev  are  good  specimens  of  the  more 
militant  type  01  Wiss  journalism.  The  difficulty 
of  the  Tessin  newspaper  is  that  its  influence  is 
strictly  confined  within  the  boundaries  of  the  can- 
ton, while  it  suffers  from  the  competition  of  the 
journals  of  Turin  and  Milan.  Notwithstanding 
these  drawbacks,  however,  a  number  of  Tessinese 
papers  have  had  a  long  and  brilliant  career.  The 
newspapers  at  present  in  the  ascendant  are 
the  Liberia,  Catholic-Conservative  in  politics,  the 
Dovere  and  the  Riforma,  both  Radical,  though 
with  somewhat  different  shades  of  the  faith,  and 
finally  the  Corriere  del  Ticino,  which,  since  1892, 


Literature  and  the  Press      249 

has  been  the  propagandist  organ  of  the  I/iberal 
Conservatives. 

It  is  a  virile,  vivid  Press,  this  of  Canton  Tessin, 
albeit  a  little  too  much  inclined,  perhaps,  to  take 
things,  as  one  of  its  own  journalists  once  put  it, 
*'  on  the  point  of  the  sword."  This  man  was  one 
of  the  most  apt  in  this  respect;  he  had.  however, 
the  wit  to  see  it,  and  so  he  used  to  make  a  trip 
annually  to  north-east  Switzerland,  and  there  for  a 
week  or  two  took  a  course  of  the  whey  cure.  Gais 
was  his  favourite  sojourn  —  Gais  in  Appenzell- 
ausser-Rhoden,  famous  for  its  cure  of  goats'  whey. 
It  is  not  clear  that  he  got  any  good  from  drinking 
the  whey;  but  he  used  to  aver  that  the  calmer 
moral  atmosphere  of  the  north-east  worked  won- 
ders with  him  for  a  time.  I  cannot  say  whether 
other  Swiss  journalists  are  in  the  habit  of  going 
to  quainv  little  Gais  for  moral  restoration,  al- 
though I  have  known  those  of  Geneva  to  take  an 
occasional  course  of  the  **  grape  cure  "  in  Canton 
Vaud.  They  used  to  say  it  was  '*  going  back  to 
nature  "  ;  but  when  I  told  my  Tessinese  friend  of 
this,  he  exclaimed,  with  a  laugh,  "  Back  to  na- 
ture! Back  to  Mother  Nature,  eh  ?  Is  that  their 
notion  ?  Then  why  don't  they  go  to  Heinrichs- 
bad  ?  ' '  There  was  a  subtle  irony  in  the  saying^ 
for  Heinrichsbad  iss  noted  for  its  cure  of  asses'  milk. 

These  cures  pli^y  a  great  part  in  the  national 
life,  but  if  they  had  nothing  worse  to  heal  than 
the  faults  of  the  Swiss  Press,  their  failure  would 
be  a  matter  of  little  inoment;   for,   taken  as  a 


250  Swiss  Life 

whole,  it  is  a  calm,  clear-headed,  and  high- 
minded  Press.  It  has  been  said  of  it  that,  if  it 
is  not  tres  palpitante,  one  more  honest  or  more 
disinterested  it  would  be  hard  to  find.  And 
the  judgment  is  a  true  one.  The  transparent 
honesty  of  the  Swiss  Press  is  its  most  abiding 
characteristic.  It  has  no  interest  other  than  that 
of  the  common  weal,  and  there  are  no  yellow 
strands  in  its  woof.  Those  who  direct  its  fortunes 
are  proud  of  the  position  their  country  holds  in 
the  world  of  international  politics,  and  knowing 
that  such  position  has  been  won  by  the  good 
sense,  civic  virtue,  and  sturdy  moral  worth  of  the 
Swiss  people,  they,  as  the  voice  of  that  people, 
endeavour  to  do  what  they  can,  in  a  humble  way, 
to  heighten  that  position,  and  to  make  it  still 
more  useful  for  the  general  welfare.  This  very 
creditable  position  which  the  Swiss  newspaper 
Press  holds  it  owes,  I  believe,  very  largely  to  the 
intimate  connection  which  has  always  subsisted 
between  it  and  the  best  writers  which  the  country 
has  produced.  I  have  already  referred  to  the  con- 
nection of  Keller,  Switzerland's  greatest  ro- 
mancist,  with  the  Press.  One  might  mention  the 
names  of  others  who,  in  more  stirring  times  than 
these,  fought  as  what  Heine  would  have  called 
Knights  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  ranks  of  jour- 
nalism, such  as  Zschokke,  author  of  the  History 
of  the  Swiss  for  the  Swiss  People  ;  Frangois  Roget, 
author  of  the  Pensees  Ginevoises ;  John  Coindet, 
the  historian  of  Italian  art,  etc. 


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Literature  and  the  Press       251 

These,  however,  are  names  of  the  past,  and  if 
there  are  none  as  great  as  Gottfried  Keller  still 
living  to  illumine  the  page  of  the  country's  litera- 
ture, he  has  at  least  many  worthy  successors. 
Switzerland,  however,  labours  under  a  great  dis- 
advantage in  regard  to  literature.  Its  people  as  a 
whole  are  not  literary.  Possibly  this  springs  from 
the  circumstance  that,  with  the  majority,  life  is 
too  hard  and  too  serious  for  letters  to  find  a  niche 
in  their  hearts.  Hence  it  arises  that,  though 
Switzerland  has  produced  poets,  historians,  ro- 
mancistsof  high  quality,  its  most  talented  writers 
have  too  often  only  been  revealed  to  its  people  by 
the  admiration  they  have  evoked  abroad.  This 
is  particularly  true  of  Keller  and  Conrad  Ferdi- 
nand Meyer,  both  of  whom  were  thought  little  of 
until  the  Germans  began  to  revel  in  their  crea- 
tions. In  short,  a  Swiss  writer  has  little  or  no 
hope  in  his  own  country  of  that  large  fame  which 
is  as  the  very  bread  of  life  to  his  soul:  for  that — 
and  especially  if  he  would  win  fortune  too — he 
must  appeal  to  the  wider  and  more  appreciative 
public  of  Germany  and  France. 

Keller  complained  that  his  native  land  was  a 
hard  bed  for  the  poet,  and  I^eutboden,  singer  of 
the  harmony  supreme,  addressed  to  his  country 
verses  full  of  anger  and  fierce  invective  because  of 
her  indiflference  to  those  who  sing  for  her  psalm- 
odies of  sweetest  measure  drawn  from  suffering 
hearts.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  best  literary 
products  of  la  Suisse  romande  become  merged  in 


252  Swiss  Life 

the  literature  of  France.  Perhaps,  however,  it  is 
not  quite  exact  to  say  **  the  best,"  because  there 
is  a  quality  of  poetry,  like  that  of  Juste  Olivier, 
which  cannot  be  detached  from  the  place  of  its 
birth,  where,  as  he  himself  wrote: 

*Un  genie  est  cache  dans  tous  ces  lieux  que  j'aime  .  .  . 

But,  in  truth,  we  have  only  to  think  of  the 
Rousseaus,  the  Madame  de  Staels,  the  Benjamin 
Constants,  and  a  score  of  others,  to  learn  how  de- 
plorable is  Switzerland's  fate  in  this  respect. 
Even  the  original  and  strikingly  characteristic 
Rodolph  Toepffer,  author  of  the  well-known  Voy- 
ages en  zigzag,  Ste.-Beuve  annexed,  as  belonging 
to  the  literature  of  France.  The  works  of  two 
other  Genevese  writers,  Marc  Monnier  and  Victor 
Cherbuliez,  now  passed  whence  their  living  voices 
can  no  more  be  heard,  gravitated  as  by  right  of 
language  to  the  literary  heritage  of  the  great 
neighbour.  And  yet  what  matters  it  ?  If  the 
Fatherland  produces  worthy  sons,  who  go  forth 
into  the  world  and  do  great  work,  the  people  at 
home  cannot  but  profit,  even  though  others  claim 
them  as  of  a  larger  citizenship.  Moreover,  apart 
from  these,  there  are  others  who,  like  Juste  Oli- 
vier, cannot  be  alienated,  so  strongly  and  peculi- 
arly do  they  cling,  like  the  edelweiss  and  the 
alpenrose,  to  the  native  soil.  Among  such  I  may 
name  Charles  Spitteler,  a  man  of  marked  origin- 
ality, both  as  to  style  and  matter;  Otto  Hagen- 
macher,  and  O.  Suttermeister,  who  has  rendered 


Literature  and  the  Press      253 

a  signal  service  to  literature  by  making  a  collec- 
tion of  folk-poesy  in  the  German  Swiss  dialect. 
Nor  should  we  forget  Adolphe  Frey,  son  of  the 
famous  Jacob  Frey,  or  Isabelle  Kaiser,  of  Zug, 
who  writes  poetry  full  of  imaginative  depth  and 
lyrical  ardour. 

Another  authoress,  daughter  of  a  man  who  may 
almost  be  said  to  have  invented  a  new  form  of 
literature,  the  peasant  epopee, — so  popular  were 
the  stories  of  Jeremias  Gotthelf  in  the  earlier  part 
of  last  century, — unites  to  a  more  chastened  style 
not  a  little  of  her  father's  humour.  Her  tales 
are  very  pretty  and  very  readable,  but  alas !  they 
are  lacking  in  that  pervading  strength  which 
made  the  pastor  of  Liitzelfluh  such  a  power  in  his 
day.  Many  imitators  he  has  had,  and  not  the 
least  of  these  was  Keller,  if  we  may  call  him  an 
imitator,  who  so  greatly  improved  even  upon  his 
master.  Not  a  few  of  these  writers  have  a  native 
tang,  a  local  colour,  very  hard  of  appreciation  by 
the  stranger  who  has  not  lived  the  life  of  their 
mountains  and  of  their  mountain  cots,  but  when 
once  the  native  atmosphere  has  been  caught,  they 
go  to  the  heart  like  a  melody  of  childhood's  days. 

Many  other  names  might  be  mentioned,  but  it 
must  suffice  to  single  out  one  or  two  only,  and 
first  let  me  refer  in  a  line  to  Auguste  Bechlin, 
whose  romance  of  village  life  in  Neuchatel,  en- 
titled Jean-Louis,  is  a  psychological  study  of  the 
highest  value,  and  one  that  ought  to  live.  Some 
of  the  best  things  in  Swiss  literature  are  these  pic- 


2  54  Swiss  Life 

tures  of  village  life;  and  another  excellent  limner 
of  them  is  Oscar  Huguenin,  also  a  Neuchatelois. 
The  like  gift  for  the  portrayal  of  peasant  charac- 
ter is  witnessed  in  the  writings  of  a  lady  of  the 
same  name  as  the  latter,  although  she  writes  un- 
der the  pseudonym  of  T.  Combe.  In  her  later 
works,  however,  this  writer  has  gone  a  step  be- 
yond her  earlier  ones,  and  in  such  stories  as  the 
Sentier  qui  Monte  and  CEuvre  d'' amour,  she  takes 
upon  herself  the  mantle  of  the  social  reformer,  and 
as  such  ranks  with  the  foremost  writers  of  Swit- 
zerland. Edouard  Rod  has  been  referred  to  else- 
where, and  I  must  pass  over  some  others,  such  as 
Virgile  Rossel,  Louis  Duchosal,  and  Philippe 
Monnier,  well  deserving  of  mention,  to  say  one 
word  about  Alice  de  Chambrier,  whose  volume  of 
poems,  Au  Delh,  caused  something  of  a  sensation 
when  it  first  appeared,  and  has  since  been  called 
for  in  edition  after  edition,  though  its  talented  au- 
thor died  almost  at  its  birth,  at  the  age  of  twenty. 
One  would  have  liked  to  add  something  about 
the  literature  of  Tessin  and  Graubiinden,  but  at 
least  I  must  quote  a  spirited  little  poem  from  the 
Romansch  tongue  by  way  of  a  closing  word  to  this 
brief  sketch  of  Swiss  literature.  It  is  by  Antoine 
Huonder,  the  greatest  poet  of  the  Romansch  peo- 
ple, and  sings  in  simple  yet  passionate  verse  the 
liberty  of  the  Grison  peasant: 

**  Quel  ei  miu  grepp,  quei  ei  miu  crap 
Chen  tschentel  jeu  miu  pei ; 


Literature  and  the  Press      255 

Artau  hai  jeu  vus  de  miu  bab 
Sai  a  negin  marschei. 

"  Quel  ei  miu  prau,  quel  miu  clavau 
Quei  miu  regress  e  dretg  ; 
Sai  a  nagin  perquei  d'engrau 
Sun  cheu  jeu  mez  il  retg. 

**  Quei  mes  aflfons,  miu  agien  saun 
De  miu  car  Diu  schengetg, 
Nutrescbel  els  cun  agien  paun, 
Els  domaan  sut  miu  tetg. 

**  O  libra,  libra  paupradat 
Artada  da  mes  vegls, 
Defender  vi  cun  tafFradat 
Sco  popa  de  mes  egls. 

**  Gie  libers  sundel  jeu  nascbius, 
Ruaseivels  vi  dormir, 
E  libers  sundel  si  carschius 
E  libers  vi  morir." 

The  only  merit  of  the  following  translation  is 
that  it  is  fairly  literal,  and  so  gives  some  idea  of 
the  indomitable  spirit  that  has  ever  animated,  and 
still  characterises,  these  descendants  of  the  Rhaeti : 

**  To  me  belong  these  rocks,  to  me  this  stony  soil ; 
Here  I  walk  with  a  firm  foot. 
For  this  is  the  earth  of  my  fathers, 
And  for  it  I  owe  homage  to  none. 

**  These  fields  and  these  meadows — 
To  me  alone  they  belong  ; 
As  a  free  citizen  I  exercise  here  my  rights, 
I  am  king  over  my  inheritance. 


25^  Swiss  Life 


i( 


Here  are  my  children,  confided  to  me  by  God  ; 
It  is  my  blood  that  flows  in  their  veins, 
It  is  my  bread  which  nourishes  them, 
It  is  under  my  roof  they  repose. 

*'  O  free,  O  gentle  simplicity, 
Richest  treasure  of  my  fathers  ! 
With  joy  would  I  sacrifice  myself  to  thee, 
Even  to  the  last  drop  of  my  blood. 

*'  Free  I  came  into  the  world, 
Free  I  have  laboured  for  my  daily  bread. 
Free,  too,  I  sleep  under  the  eternal  stars. 
And  free  will  take  the  hand  of  death." 

Who  would  not  wish  to  sing  such  a  paean  of 
freedom — and  wish  it  for  all  the  world  ? 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

TYPES   AND  CHARACTERS 

ONE  cannot  live  long  in  Switzerland  without 
meeting,  here  and  there,  some  very  striking 
types  of  character — types  which,  though  they  may 
be  seen  elsewhere,  strike  one  as  having  a  stamp 
and  hall-mark  essentially  Swiss.  I  have  referred 
to  one,  the  Genevese  huissier,  on  a  preceding  page. 
Though  a  very  humble  servant  of  the  State,  he 
was  a  man  of  some  education  and  of  vast  observa- 
tion. A  patriot  of  the  first  water,  who  had  been 
out  with  the  hastily  mobilised  corps  d'  armee,  called 
out  when  General  Bourbaki  and  his  host  crossed 
the  frontier  to  avoid  capture  by  the  Germans  in 
1871,  he  had  the  most  unbounded  admiration  for 
his  country  and  for  his  countrymen  —  if  they 
agreed  with  him.  For  his  nation's  great  deeds, 
as  well  as  for  the  notable  features  of  the  country, 
he  had  no  less  an  admiration.  There  was  one 
word  which  best  expressed  and  almost  invariably 
clinched  his  eulogy ;  it  was  ma^nific — brought  out 
with  a  very  large  note  of  admiration.  William 
Tell  etait  magnific ;    De  Candole  Staif  magnific. 

257 


258  Swiss  Life 

He  hated  Calvin,  but  he  was  all  the  same  mag- 
nific.  Every  hill  and  vale  and  lake  in  the  country 
was  magnific,  albeit  few  of  them  beyond  the  D61e 
and  the  Lake  of  Geneva  had  come  under  his  eye. 
It  would  seem,  perhaps,  as  though  he  had  no 
sense  of  perspective;  but  in  truth  that  was  not 
lacking  in  him,  nor  was  he  without  a  certain  hu- 
morous outlook  and  appreciation. 

This  was  shown  one  day  when  he  was  describ- 
ing the  Hotel  de  Ville  to  an  English  visitor.  He 
was  explaining  that  the  way  up  to  the  council 
chamber  was  by  a  gradual  ascent  instead  of  by 
steps.  It  was  thus  arranged,  said  he,  so  that  in 
olden  times  the  councillors  might  mount  stir  leurs 
dnes  (upon  their  asses).  To  which  remark  the 
stranger  dryly  replied,  '^  Et  maintenant,  I  sup- 
pose, les  dnes  montent  seulsf  ("  Now,  I  sup- 
pose, the  asses  go  up  alone?").  The  huissier 
looked  grave  for  a  moment,  but  then  broke  into 
a  hearty  laugh.  He  hastened  to  report  the  jest  to 
a  member  of  the  city  council,  adding  that,  though 
the  remark  was  a  little  rude,  detait  magniftc. 
This  man  once  took  me  at  night  through  the 
Electoral  Palace  after  a  Federal  election.  The 
doors  were  wide  open  for  the  people  to  pass  in 
and  out,  the  place  was  well  lighted,  and,  guard- 
ing the  ballot-urns,  which  had  been  sealed  by  the 
authorities,  were  a  number  of  soldiers  with  fixed 
bayonets.  The  scrutiny  was  not  to  take  place 
until  the  morning.  There  was  such  an  air  of 
openness,  simplicity,  and  security  about  the  affair 


.c 


ii-U 


SWISS  GUIDES 


Types  and  Characters         259 

that  one  could  not  help  thinking  of  my  friend's 
favourite  word  magnific. 

This  man  was  one  of  the  best  types  of  the  Swiss 
bourgeois  class  I  met  with.  He  was  thoroughly 
imbued  with  the  idea  of  each  standing  and  striv- 
ing for  all  and  all  for  each.  "  We  do  our  utmost 
for  the  children  while  they  are  young,"  he  would 
say,  '  *  and  when  we  are  old  they  will  do  the  best 
they  can  for  us.  What  could  be  better  ?  We 
spend  ourselves  while  we  have  strength,  and  have 
confidence  that  we  shall  not  be  neglected  when  the 
day  of  decline  comes."  There  was  in  him,  too,  a 
touch  of  pride  at  the  thought  that  the  little  Re- 
public might  have  its  mission  to  the  larger  nations. 

Another  Swiss  type,  very  pleasing  to  me,  was 
that  presented  by  a  small  peasant  farmer  of  the 
Jura,  not  above  an  hour  from  Geneva.  I,  with  a 
companion,  made  his  acquaintance  one  night  after 
a  day  of  wandering.  We  had,  in  fact,  lost  our 
way  among  the  hills,  and  by  chance  stumbled  into 
the  midst  of  a  herd  of  his  cattle.  A  lad  conducted 
us  to  the  house,  where  we  were  royally  enter- 
tained with  such  as  the  place  afforded,  put  up 
comfortably  for  the  night,  and  in  the  morning  au 
revoir'd  with  a  cordiality  that  left  nothing  to  be 
desired.  When  we  had  offered  to  pay  for  our  en- 
tertainment, this  homely  and  rough-handed  peas- 
ant declined  with  a  '*  Many  thanks,  gentlemen; 
but  let  it  be  for  the  honour  of  the  thing." 

Subsequently  I  saw  much  of  this  man.  It  hap- 
pened that  on  this  first  visit  we  slept  late  in  the 


26o  Swiss  Life 

morning,  and,  as  the  farmer's  wife  told  us,  missed 
a  fine  view  of  the  sunrise  on  Mont  Blanc  in  con- 
sequence. Seeing  that  this  was  a  disappointment 
to  me,  the  worthy  host  invited  me  to  pay  him  a 
visit  any  time  I  liked — my  friend,  an  American 
student,  being  then  on  his  way  home.  *'  There  is 
a  spare  bedroom  always  ready, ' '  he  added,  * '  and, 
such  as  it  is,  at  your  service." 

We  hear  much  nowadays  of  going  back  to  na- 
ture. To  town-bred  people  it  seems  a  hard  thing 
to  do.  But  one  had  only  to  go  and  live  with  this 
peasant  farmer  to  feel  how  much  and  how  com- 
pletely one  may  be  in  touch  with  nature.  His 
house,  a  substantial  structure  of  wood  built  upon 
a  stone  foundation,  was  as  truly  a  part  of  nature 
as  the  martin's  nest  in  the  sandy  clifi^,  the  gleam 
from  his  window  o'  nights  as  autochthonic  as  the 
tiny  lights  of  the  glow-worms  that,  stuck  on  our 
hats,  so  often  served  to  illumine  our  after-dark 
way.  There  was  not  a  touch  of  luxury  in  the 
whole  place,  unless  it  were  the  luxury  of  coarse 
linen  sheets  in  which  to  sleep,  in  a  bedroom  with 
the  barest  modicum  of  furniture,  and  with  nothing 
in  the  shape  of  carpet  or  rug  on  the  floor,  save  a 
clean  sheep-skin  by  the  bed.  To  anyone  sick  of 
stuffy  rooms  and  overdone  furnishment  these 
things  were  a  luxury,  and  especially  the  feeling 
of  airiness  about  you — the  airiness  of  the  hill-tops 
and  the  spacious  vales,  the  fine  aroma  of  the 
breath  of  life  filling  the  pine-clad  slopes.  Every- 
where, too,  was  the  sweet  smell  of  cattle  and  of 


Types  and  Characters         261 

growing  things,  meadows  in  the  spring  radiant 
with  flowers,  in  the  later  months  redolent  of  hay. 

Nor  was  the  harder,  the  more  tragic  side  of  na- 
ture wanting.  For  how  often,  as  the  year  drew 
round  again  towards  the  later  equinox,  the  time 
for  their  southward  migration,  have  I  not  seen 
thousands,  nay,myriads  of  birds,  swallows  chiefly, 
covering  rocks,  trees,  house-eaves,  every  little 
coign  that  could  serve  as  a  resting-place,  with 
their  tired  and  panling  bodies?  Some  of  them, 
already  worn  out,  would  never  win  across  the 
great  barrier  of  snow-clad  peaks  gleaming  right  in 
front  of  them,  white  and  jagged  as  a  carnivor's 
teeth,  and  so  short  a  distance  away.  Many  could 
be  picked  up,  just  as  they  had  dropped,  almost  as 
light  as  the  air  they  navigated,  with  nothing  on 
their  tiny  bones  save  a  bit  of  skin  and  some 
feathers.  Their  little  fires  were  out.  Thousands 
thus  fall  ere  they  reach  the  Jura,  thousands  more 
must  yield  the  vital  spark  ere  they  touch  the 
passes  of  the  neighbouring  range. 

The  plainness  of  the  fare,  too,  on  which  these 
people  thrive — and  it  is  much  the  same  all 
through  the  Alps — is  another  reminder  of  how 
close,  when  with  them,  one  may  get  back  to  na- 
ture and  natural  ways.  Bread,  cream,  curds,  but- 
ter, cheese,  dried  or  fresh  fruits — these  are  the 
things  on  which  you  chiefly  feed.  Meat  is  a 
rarity.  Coffee  is  almost  the  only  exotic,  and  that, 
made  with  milk  alone,  and  thickened  with  cream 
to  your  liking,  serves  as  a  timely  reminder  of  the 


262  Swiss  Life 

distance  you  are  from  civilisation,  though  so  near. 
I  found  it  much  the  same  in  most  parts  of  the 
Alps:  if  you  happened  to  fall  into  the  good  graces 
of  the  herdsman  in  the  mountains,  he  would  give 
you  a  cup  of  coffee  to  remember. 

In  stature  the  Jura  farmer  was  a  little  above  the 
medium  size,  squarely  built,  with  a  broad,  high 
forehead  and  strongly  marked  features.  They 
would  have  appeared  hard  but  for  his  fine  grey 
eyes,  inclining  to  blue.  Slow  of  speech,  his  words 
came  out  much  as  a  careful  man  would  count 
down  money.  They  dropped  from  him  like  coined 
gold.  He  said  he  did  not  care  much  for  Geneva. 
**They  jabber  so  much  in  the  town,"  said  he; 
"  they  are  always  jabbering.  But,"  he  added,  "  I 
once  heard  a  man  speak  there — a  preacher — who 
gave  me  enough  to  think  about  for  a  year."  It 
was  not  his  habit  to  talk  about  his  religious  views; 
one  could  see  from  the  few  words  he  now  and  then 
let  fall  that  they  were  very  distinct  and  strangely 
idiosyncratic  of  the  man.  Once  a  month  he  went 
to  church.  "  It  is  enough,"  said  he.  *'  Church- 
going  may  become  a  sin  like  everything  else.  Re- 
ligion is  living  well  and  doing  good,  not  listening 
to  words." 

"I  don't  want  people  to  say,"  he  remarked  on 
one  occasion,  "  how  religious  I  am,  because  I  go 
so  regularly  to  church,  but  I  want  them  to  think 
I  would  do  nothing  mean  or  underhand  to  obtain 
an  advantage,  and  that  I  would  not  refuse  to  help 
a  neighbour  in  trouble  so  far  as  I  could."     One 


Types  and  Characters         263 

thing  about  his  religious  character  was  very  strik- 
ing. "My  dear  mother,"  he  said  once,  "  never 
troubled  me  much  about  religion,  but  she  got  me 
to  learn  the  four  Gospels  by  heart,  and  she  asked 
me  to  repeat  portions  of  them  to  myself  from  time 
to  time,  so  as  not  to  forget  them.  That  I  have 
done  ever  since  I  was  a  boy,"  he  added,  "  and  I 
find  it  simplifies  matters  very  much  just  to  try  and 
act  as  near  as  possible  in  accord  with  the  spirit 
there  inculcated,  leaving  all  the  glosses  of  word- 
spinners  to  those  who  like  them." 

I  give  these  views  of  my  Jura  farmer  friend  be- 
cause they  are  so  strikingly  characteristic  of  the 
directness  and  simplicity  of  the  Swiss  mind  as  I 
found  it  in  so  many  fresh  and  vigorous  specimens 
of  manhood,  not  only  of  West  but  of  East  Switzer- 
land.  I  hold  them  to  be  the  more  worth  giving 
because,  as  it  seems  to  me,  the  spirit  of  simplicity, 
not  only  in  regard  to  religion,  but  in  other  mat- 
ters also,  is  growing,  and  it  may  be  that  these 
Swiss  thinkers  and  "doers"  are  going  to  have 
their  influence  upon  the  world  as  the}^  had  in  past 
time;  for  we  all  know  what  a  tremendous  thing 
came  out  of  Geneva  "  in  the  days  that  are  gone." 

I  met  at  this  house  another  characteristic  Swiss 
type,  a  feminine  one.  I  never  saw  a  second  like 
her,  and  I  doubt  whether  I  ever  shall.  She  was 
a  little  above  the  medium  height,  beautifully 
formed,  with  a  face  that  would  have  been  beauti- 
ful, too,  but  for  the  passionate  intelligence  ex- 
pressed in  it.     I  can  describe  what  I  mean  in  no 


264  Swiss  Life 

» 

other  way.  A  woman  endowed  with  so  high  a 
quality  of  intellect  I  never  knew;  and  I  certainly 
never  knew  one,  and  can  hardly  conceive  of  one, 
in  whom  intellect  and  the  passion  of  enthusiasm 
were  so  intimately  commingled.  Her  face  had  all 
the  tender  and  harmonious  lines  of  a  beauty  well- 
nigh  ideal ;  but  the  brow  was  too  pronounced,  and 
with  her  grey  eyes  gave  an  expression  to  her 
countenance  that  was  almost  masculine.  Her 
hair,  the  colour  of  her  eyes,  intensified  the  ex- 
pression. I  never  learned  much  about  Mademoi- 
selle C.'s  past.  That  she  was  Genevese  by  birth 
and  parentage,  that  she  had  spent  some  years  of 
her  early  womanhood  in  England,  where  she  had 
seen  much  good  society,  and  that  she  had  been  in 
Paris  during  the  Commune — these  things  I  knew, 
but  little  else.  The  Commune  had  made  an  in- 
delible impression  upon  her,  and  it  was  easy  to 
see  that  her  sympathies  were  largely  with  the 
Communards.  She  declared  that  Paris  was  never 
so  well  governed  as  under  their  rule.  But  what 
a  martyrdom  that  episode  must  have  been  to 
her! 

Her  description  of  the  last  days  of  the  Com- 
mune, when  the  Republican  troops  were  pressing 
in  the  Communards  on  every  side,  and  when  one 
of  the  last  stands  was  made  at  a  barricade  at  the 
end  of  the  street  in  which  she  lived,  and  they 
could  see  the  fighting  from  the  balcony,  was  a 
thing  never  to  be  forgotten.  One  afternoon,  when 
the  sunshine  was  filling  all  the  street,  a  sudden 


Types  and  Characters         265 

rattle  of  chassepot  fire  called  them  to  the  window. 
Looking  towards  the  barricade,  they  saw  a  Com- 
munist soldier  throw  away  his  rifle,  tear  off  his 
blouse,  and  make  off  hastily  along  the  street. 
Opposite  the  house  he  was  met  by  a  Republican 
officer  coming  the  other  way,  who  commanded 
him  to  stand,  and  bade  him  hold  up  his  hands. 
This  was  to  see  if  they  showed  the  marks  of  hav- 
ing held  a  rifle.  Mademoiselle  and  her  friends 
could  not  hear  the  short  colloquy  that  took  place, 
but  it  was  all  too  plain  what  it  meant,  and  the 
deno2iement — the  young  Communard  struck  down 
with  a  pistol-shot  point-blank — came  like  a  flash 
of  lightning.  "  The  officer  hurried  on,  the  young 
fellow  writhed  on  the  ground  like  a  crushed 
worm,"  said  Mademoiselle.  "We  watched  our 
chance,  and  when  there  was  no  one  about  we  went 
out  and  fetched  the  dying  soldier  in.  It  turned 
out  to  be  the  brother  of  my  friends. ' '  Afterwards 
these  people  got  into  trouble  for  removing  the  dy- 
ing man.  An  officer  and  a  file  of  soldiers  called, 
and  would  have  carried  him  off,  and  his  friends 
with  him,  but  for  the  spirit  of  this  Swiss  heroine. 
She  threw  herself  in  front  of  them,  and  cried: 
"  But,  gentlemen,  what  sort  of  conduct  is  this? 
Take  me  too;  I  helped  to  carry  him  in — I,  who  am 
not  a  relative,  out  of  compassion  and  humanity. 
What  would  you  have  them  do,  then — they 
who  are  his  sisters  ?  Would  you  have  your  sisters 
be  heartless  were  you  at  the  point  of  death  ? 
Messieurs^  messieurs  !  Soldats,  mes  hommes  /  "    In 


266  Swiss  Life 

the  end  they  stationed  a  sentry  at  the  door,  and 
that  was  all. 

Mademoiselle — I  can  imagine  Madame  Roland 
being  like  her — had  two  regrets:  one  that  she  was 
not  a  man,  the  other  that  she  had  not  a  son. 
* '  He  should  have  been  a  mnn ! ' '  she  once  ex- 
claimed. **  But  it  was  not  to  be.  The  men  who 
sought  me  as  wife  were  not  men  enough  for  me." 
Her  ideals  of  manhood  were  found  among  the 
Englishmen  she  had  known  in  the  days  of  her 
early  womanhood.  Youthful  impressions  may 
have  biassed  her  judgment;  but  to  her  view  the 
cultured  Englishman  was  the  finest  type  of  manli- 
ness in  the  world.  To  make  him  perfect  she  only 
desired  that  he  should  worship  nos  ideals,  '  *  Our 
ideals  "  meant  the  acceptance  of  equal  rights  and 
privileges  for  all  and  the  abolition  of  caste  distinc- 
tions. 

But  notwithstanding  all  her  intelligence — per- 
haps in  consequence  of  it — the  woman  was  a 
dreamer.  The  last  time  I  saw  her  was  on  the 
shore  of  the  Lake  of  Geneva,  watching  the  last 
paling  splendours  of  the  declining  day  as  they 
tinged  the  glittering  white  of  the  Alps  with  the 
hues  of  the  dying  dolphin.  *'  When  I  look  on 
that,"  she  said,  ''  I  dream  of  the  eternal  love  and 
of  peace.  How  beautiful  they  are,  those  things! 
Mais,  mon  Dieu  !  How  happy  it  must  be  to  be  a 
simple  little  farmer's  wife,  and  not  dream  too 
much  of  such  things!  "  She  was  thinking  of  our 
friend,  the  Jura  husbandman,  with  the  never-ceas- 


Types  and  Characters         267 

ing  labour  and  the  ever-present  solitude  of  the 
hills. 

I  should  like  to  present  another  type,  but  I  fear 
lest  m}^  attempt  ma\^  prove  altogether  inadequate. 
He  was  an  officer  on  the  permanent  staff  of  the 
Swiss  army,  and  had  to  do  with  the  drilling  of 
recruits,  and  so  forth.  I  travelled  with  him  once 
as  far  as  Olten  to  attend  an  Old  Catholic  confer- 
ence, and  as  we  spent  much  of  two  days  together, 
I  learned  a  great  deal  about  his  attitude  towards 
the  world  and  things  in  general.  He,  too,  had 
his  ideal,  and  a  very  simple  one  it  was.  "  Every 
boy  and  girl  ought  to  be  taught  a  bread-winning 
handicraft,  to  shoot  straight  (if  a  boy),  to  nurse 
(if  a  girl),  and  to  know  and  do  their  duty  to  their 
neighbours  and  their  God."  For  the  rest,  he  was 
a  true  Catholic,  albeit  opposed  to  Ultramontanism, 
which  he  held  to  be  hostile  to  the  best  interests  of 
democrac3^  Et  le  Christia7iisme — voila  la  V7'aie 
democratie  !  That  was  his  view — and  his  political 
faith. 

Elsewhere  I  have  endeavoured  to  limn  in  out- 
line two  or  three  governesses.  Let  me  add  here 
the  broad  general  lineaments  of  a  schoolmaster. 
I  met  him  in  a  hotel  where  he  was  spending  his 
summer  vacation.  Sitting  at  the  end  of  the  table 
opposite  to  me,  and  being  a  very  grave  person,  or 
to  all  appearance  such,  I  got  the  idea  that  he  was 
greatly  scandalised  at  the  light  talk  and  frequent 
laughter  that  enlightened  my  end  of  the  table, 
where  we  were  English,  Irish,  Dutch,  German, 


268  Swiss  Life 

and  Russian,  rather  indiscriminately  mixed.  If 
he  intervened  in  the  general  conversation,  it  was 
somewhat  heavily  and,  as  one  might  say,  profes- 
sionall}^  Finally  he  left,  and  as  the  landlady  was 
regretting  his  absence,  I  remarked  that  we  seemed 
to  breathe  more  freely  without  him.  "  Ah,"  said 
she,  "  that  is  because  he  is  worn  out  with  work. 
But  if  you  will  go  with  us  one  day  to  visit  him  in 
the  mountains,  you  will  find  him  very  different — 
so  amiable,  and  so — how  do  you  say  it  ? — so  fond 
of  doing  nothing  with  just  enough  to  do  to  make 
it  comfortable." 

A  week  or  so  later  a  party  of  us  drove  over  to 
see  this  schoolmaster  in  his  mountain  retreat,  and 
I  learned  to  know  him  for  what  he  was  truly — a 
man  who  had  almost  a  passion  for  the  training  of 
the  young.  Near  to  where  he  was  lodging  there 
was  a  house  for  school-children  during  the  holi- 
days, and  it  was  a  picture  to  see  him  romping 
with  the  small  fry  in  the  meadows  and  upon  the 
hillside.  This  man  had  one  thought,  although  he 
had  many  ways  of  expressing  it;  it  was,  ''The 
world  has  not  yet  learned  how  malleable  child- 
hood is."  And  he  often  gave  it  as  his  conviction 
that  the  time  would  come  when  the  world  would 
be  governed  from  the  nursery  and  the  schoolroom. 

By  way  of  contrast  let  me  give  the  portrait  of 
an  hotel-keeper,  a  woman.  Her  house  is  in  Ge- 
neva, on  the  northern  side  of  the  lake.  It  does 
not  rank  among  the  first ;  but  it  is  probabl}^  the 
more  comfortable  on  that  account.     Anyway,  all 


Types  and  Characters         269 

wbo  stay  in  it  once  want  to  go  again ;  for  Madame 
is  a  model  hostess,  and  not  only  makes  her  guests 
comfortable,  but  takes  an  interest  in  each  person- 
ally. Moreover,  she  is  a  good  story-teller,  and, 
as  a  story-teller  should  be,  full  of  humour.  In 
days  long  gone  her  father  had  kept  one  of  the 
best  hotels  in  the  city,  one  historically  famous, 
and  had  thus  been  brought  in  contact  with  many 
notable  men.  It  was  not  of  these,  however,  that 
Madame  told  her  stories,  but  about  the  eccentrici- 
ties who  had  left  their  mark  upon  the  hotel.  The 
English  **  my  lord  "  was  a  stock  character,  and  it 
must  be  confessed  she  had  some  amusing  stories 
about  him — about  his  oddities,  his  forgetful ness, 
his  often  querulous  tongue,  his  "  cracktness  "  (if 
one  may  coin  a  word),  his  generosity,  and  what 
not. 

A  favourite  story  was  that  of  the  nobleman  who 
had  told  his  coachman  overnight  that  they  would 
start  for  home  in  the  morning — for  these  reminis- 
cences went  back  to  pre-railway  days;  but  when 
he  appeared  at  the  door  to  get  into  his  carriage  he 
found  the  horses'  heads  turned  in  the  direction  as 
though  they  were  going  to  Italy.  "  I  told  you  we 
were  going  home, "said  his  lordship  to  the  coach- 
man. "  Oh,  I  beg  your  pardon,  sir!  "  cried  John. 
*'  I  '11  have  the  horses'  heads  the  other  way  in 
half  a  jiff."  **  Never  mind,"  replied  the  noble- 
man, with  the  utmost  sang-froid ;  "  since  j^ou 
have  got  the  horses'  heads  that  way,  we  will  go 
on  to  Rome."    Another  of  these  amiable  maniacs 


270  Swiss  Life 

always  dragged  his  bed  on  to  the  floor,  and  slept 
there;  a  still  odder  variety  used  to  put  the  dining- 
room  chairs  back  to  back,  and  play  leap-frog  over 
them,  to  prepare  himself  for  dinner.  ' '  Father  did 
not  object,"  observed  Madame,  with  a  smile, 
*'  because  if  *  my  lord  '  happened  to  break  one  he 
never  objected  to  -psLying  double  what  it  was 
worth."  These  stories  were  told  with  infinite 
gusto,  but  none  tickled  the  good  hostess  so  much 
in  the  telling  as  the  story  of  the  gentleman  who, 
when  nearing  Paris  on  his  way  home  from  Italy, 
missed  a  favourite  white  beaver,  and  returned  all 
the  way  to  Geneva,  inquiring  at  every  stopping- 
place,  * '  Haveyou  seen  anything  of  my  white  hat  ? ' ' 
At  that  place  he  found  that  it  had  been  inadvert- 
ently crushed  into  a  portmanteau  among  some 
soiled  linen.  But,  bruised  and  rumpled  though 
it  was,  he  clapped  it  on  his  head,  and  set  out  north 
again,  perfectly  happy.  "Ah,  Monsieur,"  said 
Madame,  after  telling  this  particularly  tall  confe, 
*'  we  repeat  these  things,  and  amuse  ourselves 
with  them ;  but,  all  the  same,  there  was  no  one 
we  liked  to  receive  better  than  these  Englishmen, 
for,  odd  as  they  might  be,  and  crotchety,  they 
were  always  gentlemen,  and  that  is  more  than  one 
can  say  of  all  who  travel  about  nowadays.  I  my- 
self saw  an  English  nobleman  drive  his  own  car- 
riage to  my  father's  door,  while  his  coachman, 
who  had  been  taken  unwell,  sat  inside."  This 
woman  spoke  three  languages  with  equal  facility. 
Two  of  them,   French  and  German,  she   called 


Types  and  Characters         271 

"  my  mother  tongues."  As  to  English,  "  that," 
she  said,  **  my  father  made  all  his  children  learn 
because,  as  he  used  to  put  it,  '  English  spells 
money.'  " 

I  could  add  many  others  to  these  types  of  char- 
acter, but  one  more  must  suffice.  Most  persons 
who  have  visited  Switzerland  have  made  the  ac- 
quaintance of  Alpine  guides.  It  can  hardly  be 
said  that  these  men  form  a  class  apart,  because 
they  are  all  of  peasant  origin,  and  most  peasants 
will  on  occasion  act  as  guides  about  their  own 
mountains,  which  they  know  co^nme  ma  poche,  as 
the  saying  is.  But  some  become  more  expert  in 
this  sort  of  work  than  others,  and  so  are  better 
known  and  more  frequently  employed.  Some,  in- 
deed, there  are  whose  names  are  world-famous, 
like  the  brothers  Hans  and  Christian  Grass  of 
Pontresina,  Alexandre  Burgener  of  Saas,  Mel- 
chior  Andregg  of  Meiringen,  or  Mathias  Zur- 
briggen,  whose  exploits  have  not  been  confined 
to  Switzerland,  or  even  Europe.  But  there  are 
many  others  equally  capable  in  their  calling 
whose  names  have  not  been  sounded  abroad,  but 
are  none  the  less  worthy  of  such  fame,  if  that 
could  help  them  or  add  to  their  comfort  in  any 
wav. 

There  is  one  trait  which  characterises  most,  if 
not  all,  of  these  men.  It  is  their  large-hearted- 
ness.  They  are  like  a  providence  haunting  the 
most  perilous  places  of  the  Alps.  There  is  hardly 
any  risk  they  will  not  run,  scarcely  any  exposure 


2  72  Swiss  Life 

they  will  not  endure,  to  save  life  or  help  those  in 
danger  or  difficulty.  The  common  run  of  men  in 
East  Switzerland  give  one  the  impression  of  being 
rough  and  a  little  hard;  but  these  men,  rugged 
though  they  are  in  externals,  can  be  as  gentle  as 
women.  All  who  know  them  are  ready  to  sing 
their  praises  in  this  respect.  I  remember  once 
three  young  men,  strangers,  wandering  about  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Chamouni,  and  losing  their 
way.  Late  at  night  two  of  them  chanced  upon  a 
lone  hut,  in  which  they  found  one  of  these  peasant 
mountaineers.  Without  a  moment's  hesitation  he 
set  out  with  one  of  the  young  men  to  fetch  their 
companion,  an  American  student,  who,  having 
sprained  his  ankle,  bade  the  others  leave  him  and 
seek  assistance.  It  was,  perhaps,  a  small  matter 
for  a  man  of  his  breadth  of  shoulder  and  strength 
of  limb,  but  it  seemed  a  marvellous  thing  to  those 
to  whom  he  gave  his  assistance  that  he  should  be 
able  to  bear  a  youth  of  twenty-two  over  several 
miles  of  rough  mountain  road,  and  almost  in  total 
darkness.  When  they  were  finally  landed  in  an 
auberge  the  young  men  made  up  a  sum  of  twenty 
francs  to  reward  him  for  his  pains.  But  he  would 
not  accept  a  sou.  ' '  Keep  me  in  your  kindly  re- 
membrance, ' '  said  he,  ' '  and  that  will  be  pay 
enough." 


INDEX 

Aargau,  32,  233 

Abbaye  des  Vignerons^  112 

"Act  of  Mediation,"  32 

^Ipler/est,  226,  229 

Agriculture,  117 

Alcohol,  7,  36,  37,  158 

Alemanni,  4 

Aletsch  glacier,  legend  of,  143 

Allmend,  119 

Alpenrosli,  127,  182 

Alp-horn,  124 

Alpine  music,  123 

Alpine  year,  the,  122 

Alp-land,  16 

Alps,  the,  118 

Altdorf,  55 

Annies  de  lajeunefille,  88 

Appenzell-ausser-Rhoden,  105,  215 

Appenzell-inner-Rhoden,  73,  156,  157,  167 

Aristocracy,  93,  94 

Asses'  milk,  49 

Assurance,  82 


Back  to  nature,  249,  260 
Basel-land,  115 
Bechlin,  Auguste,  253 
Beer-drinking,  158 


18 


273 


274  Index 

Bergsturz,  22 

Berne,  31,  52,  53,  136 

Bernese  Jura,  5 

Bernese  Oberland,  13,  100,  137,  229 

Birds,  destruction  of,  127 

Birds,  migration  of,  261 

Bishoprics,  209 

Book-knowledge,  176,  177 

Books,  gratuitous  provision  of,  in  schools,  68 

Bund,  31,  32 

Burger,  48,  49 

Burgess  class,  94 

Burgundians,  4 

Byron  (I^ord),  34,  134 

Ci^AR,  3 

Calvin,  74,  218,  258 

Catholics,  56,  64,  67,  72,  149,  155,  156,  161,  164,  166.  211^ 

214 
Cattle-breeding,  117 
Cattle  (Swiss),  119,  137 
Celtic,  3 

Chambrier,  Alice,  254 
Chamois,  16 

Character,  cantonal,  131  ;  Swiss,  257 
Chaux  de-Fonds,  98,  231 
Cheese-making,  117,  128,  205 
Cherbuliez,  Victor,  252 
Chestnuts,  10 

Church  in  Switzerland,  209 
Coleridge,  25 
Combe,  T.,  254 
Communal  Assembly,  48 
Commune,  46,  47,  52,  187 
Condensed  milk  industry,  105 
Consistory,  72 


Index  275 


Co-operation,  204  et  seq. 
Costumes,  46,  156,  166,  167 
Cotton  manufacture,  100-102,  104 
Cow-bells,  122 
Cretinism,  6,  7 
Cuisines  scolaires,  84 
Culture  of  the  vine,  106 
Cures,  249 

Dancing,  155 

Democratic  government,  29 
*'  Derbyshire  neck,"  6 
Dialects,  133,  149 
Domo  d'Ossola,  6 
Drama,  the  rural,  138 
Drunkenness,  36 

Education,  9,  61-63,  167,  168,  176,  177 

Elm,  21 

Embroidery,  102-105 

Emmenthal,  117,  137,  227 

Engadine,  147-149 

Engineers,  18 

Entlebuch,  137,  227 

Factories,  154 
Factory  laws,  202 
Farmer,  Jura,  259 
Father  Bacchus,  112 
Federal  Assembly,  43,  44 
Federal  Council,  44,  45 
Federal  Pact,  32,  34 
Festivals  (popular),  221 
Festspiel,  237  et  seq. 
FHe  des  Vignerons,  112 
Firtiy  24 
Flax-spinning,  104 


276  Index 

Flowers  (Alpine),  126,  127 

Forest  Cantons,  30,  32 

Forests,  18,  19 

Freiburg,  133,  134,  136,  213 

French  (language),  4,  34,  93,  132,  244 

Fruit-trees,  175 

GalEER,  AI.BERT,  196 

Game,  16 

Gemeinde^  47,  49 

Genva,  76,  9  7,  n 5,  132,  I95,  201,  210,  21S,  234 

Geneva  Convention,  88 

German  (language),  4,  5,  14,  31,  50,  51 

Glaciers,  20,  24 

Glarus,  5,  21,  31,  54,  55,  94,  205,  222 

Goethe,  33 

Goitre,  6 

"  Gospel  of  work,"  82 

Gotthelf,  Jeremias,  253 

Governesses  (Swiss),  168  et  seq. 

Grape  cure,  249 

Graubiinden,  5,  17,  71,  107,  114,  146,  149 

Grisons.    See  Graubiinden. 

Grutli  Society,  195,  200,  2or 

Gruyere,  117,  133,  2^ 

Guides  (Swiss),  271 

Gymnastics,  229,  230 

Hackbrett,  156 
Hagenmacher,  O.,  252 
Heinrichsbad,  249 
Helvetii,  3 
Home  life,  160 
Homes  (Swiss),  153 
Hornus,  229 
Hotel-keepers,  116,  268 


Index  2^1 

Houses  (Swiss),  163,  179,  180 
Huguenin,  Oscar,  254 
Huonder,  Antoine.  254 
Hygiene,  154 

Industry  (Swiss),  95-97,  100,  103,  106,  117,  205 
Initiative,  39,  42 
Insects  (Alpine),  127 
Intemperance,  7 
Italian  (language),  4 

JAHN,  LUDWiG,  230 
Jeremias  Gotthelf,  253 
Jesuits,  34,  210 
Jewellery,  97 
Jews,  214 

"Jodel,"  135,  157.233 
Jura  farmer,  259 

Kaiser,  Isabei,i,e,  253 

Keller,  Gottfried,  138,  246,  251,  253 

Kiltgang,  the,  137,  165 

King  (Edward)  and  sanatoria,  90,  91 

Kuhreihen,  134,  135 

Kulturkampf,  210 

Labour  colonies,  83 

Lace-making,  179 

Ladin  (/.  e.  Latin)  dialect,  149 

Lake  Constance,  9,  ii7>  233 

Lake  Leman,  or  Geneva,  10,  34,  107,  117,  258 

Lake  of  Zurich,  115 

Landamman^  55-59 

Landsgemeinde,  39,  41,  43,  46,  55-59.  I95 

Landsgemeinde  cantons,  54 

Landslip,  23 


278  Index 

Landsturniy  185 
Landwehr,  185 
Lausanne,  9,  69,  133 
Leutboden,  251 
Life  in  the  Alps,  118 
Life  (length  of),  7 
Lightning,  25 
Linen-weaving,  104 
Literature,  243  et  seq, 
Locle,  98 
Lucerne,  72 
Lugano,  232 
Lullaby,  180 
Luther,  234 
Lutheranism,  219 

Madrisahorn,  legend  of,  150 

Maienstecken,  165 

Manufacture  of  machinery,  104 

Marmot,  16 

Marriage  customs,  160  et  seq, 

Methodists,  219 

Meyer,  C.  F.,  251 

Michelet,  97 

Migration  of  birds,  261 

Military  system,  184 

Milk  cures,  77 

Monnier,  Mark,  252 

Montet,  Dr.,  218 

Morgarten,  30 

Mount  Pilatus,  legend  of,  138 

Music,  234  et  seq. 

Musical-boxes,  97,  99 

NaFEIvS  (battle  of),  222 
National  Council,  44 


Index  279 

National  industry,  93 
Neuchatel,  98,  218 
Newspapers  (Swiss),  244  et  seq. 

Oi,D  Catholics,  211-213 
Olivier,  Juste,  252 

Peasant,  the  Swiss,  119 

People's  Bank,  204 

Pestalozzi,  62 

Philanthropic  work,  78-80,  89 

Pilatus  (Mount),  legend  of,  138 

Polytechnic,  36,  74,  75 

Popular /^/(fj,  221 

Poverty,  96 

Press,  243  et  seq. 

Productive  land,  area  of,  16 

Protestants,  60,  71,  72,  132,  148,  I55.  156,  161,  162,  214 

215 
Public  education,  61 
Public  Utility,  Society  of,  79,  81,  84 

Ranz  des  Vaches,  123,  134 

Reclus,  Elis^e,  154 

Red  Cross  Society,  87,  88 

Referendum,  39,  42,  68 

Republican  manners,  159 

Revision  (of  Constitution),  35 

Rhaeti,  3,  32,  255 

Rhaetia,  5 

Ribbon-weaving,  103 

Roads,  26 

Rod  Edouard,  133 

Roget,  Fran5ois,  250 

Romance  dialects,  133 

Romans,  3 

Romansch,  5,  149 


28o  Index 

Rousseau,  Jean  Jacques,  27,  62,  252 
Rum  bold.  Sir  Horace,  62 
Rural  exodus,  122,  125,  130 

St.  Jakob,  battle  of,  114 
Sanatoria,  90,  91 
Sand,  Georges,  168 
Schabzieger,  205 
Schaffhausen,  114,  115,  231 
Schiller,  33 

School,  67,  68,  176-178 
Schoolmaster  (Swiss),  267 
Schutzenfeste,  224,  225 
Schweizer  Bluf,  114 
Schwingfeste,  227 
Schwyz,  8,  166 
Seippel,  M.,  62 
Senn  (cowherd),  life  of,  127 
Shoe-making,  104 
Shooting,  191 
Silk  manufacture,  100,  loi 
Simmenthal,  115,  137 
Social  Democrats,  200,  204 
Soleure  Jura,  99 
Sovereign  rights,  37 
Sovereignty  of  the  people,  29 
Spitteler,  Charles,  252 
Sports,  228,  229 
Straw-plaiting,  103,  105 
Struggle  with  nature,  12 
Sunday  labour,  202 
Suttermeister,  O.,  252 
Swiss  army,  184 
Swiss  children,  173,  179,  180 
Swiss  girls,  154,  155,  181 
Swiss  songs,  123,  124 


Index  281 


Swiss  women,  152,  153,  167 
Synod  (Protestant),  216,  217 

Taverns,  157,  160 

Tell,  William,  31,  33,  191 

Temperance,  158 

Tessin,  4,  5,  32,  114,  115,  145,  146 

Thurgau,  32,  115 

Ticino,  4,  145 

Tir  Federal,  191,  223,  240 

Tissot,  Victor,  247 

Tobacco  industry,  105 

Toepflfer,  Rodolph,  252 

Trychlen,  122 

Tyndall  (Professor),  23 

Types  (Swiss),  257  et  seq. 

U1.TRAMONTANES,  211,  212,  215 

Unit  of  political  life,  47 

Universities,  36,  70,  74,  213,  217,  230,  231 

Unterwalden,  no,  166 

Uri,  30,  73 

Vacation  colonies,  77 

Valais,  6,  71,  108,  115,  125,  141,  142 

Vaud,  76,  no,  113,  132,  133,  197,  210,  218 

Vegetation  (Alpine),  125 

Vine,  culture  of,  106  et  seq. 

Vintage,  in 

Viticulture  in  Tessin,  no 

Vogt,  Carl,  74,  146 

Volkslieder,  22 

Voralpen^  10 

Watch-making,  97,  98 
Wealth,  95 
Whey  cure,  249 


282  Index 

Wine-making,  106  et  seq. 
Women,  work  of,  121 ;  Swiss,  152 
Wood-carving,  99 
Woollen  manufacture,  104 
Working-men's  societies,  195,  200,  20I 
Workmen  (Swiss),  195 
Wrestling,  136,  226,  228 
Wulsch  cantons,  51,  94,  153 

ZSCHOKKE,  250 

Zug,  31,  41 

Zurich,  53,  54,  68,  71,  219 

Zurich  Oberland,  100-102 


Ji  Selection  from  the 
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I.— FRENCH   LIFE  IN  TOWN   AND  COUNTRY 

By  Hannah  Lynch. 

"Miss  Lynch 's  pages  are  thoroughly  interesting  and  suggestive. 
Her  style,  too,  is  not  common.  It  is  marked  by  vivacity  without 
any  drawback  of  looseness,  and  resembles  a  stream  that  run* 
strongly  and  evenly  between  walls.  It  is  at  once  distinguished  and 
useful.  .  .  .  Her  five-page  description  (not  dramatization)  of  the 
grasping  Paris  landlady  is  a  capital  piece  of  work.  .  .  .  ,Such 
well-finished  portraits  are  frequent  in  Miss  L,ynch's  book,  which  is 
small,  inexpensive,  and  of  a  real  excellence." —  The  London  Academy. 
"  Miss  Lynch 's  book  is  particularly  notable.  It  is  the  first  of  a 
series  describing  the  home  and  social  life  of  various  Europf  an 
peoples — a  series  long  needed  and  sure  to  receive  a  warm  welcome. 
Her  style  is  frank,  vivacious,  entertaining,  captivating,  just  the 
kind  for  a  book  which  is  not  at  all  statistical,  political,  or  contro- 
versial. A  special  excellence  of  her  book,  reminding  one  of  Mr- 
Whiteing's,  lies  in  her  continual  contrast  of  the  English  and  the 
French,  and  she  thus  sums  up  her  praises:  'The  English  are 
admirable :  the  French  are  lovable.'  "—The  Outlook. 

II GERMAN  LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 

By  W.  H.  Dawson,  author  of  "  Germany  and  the 

Germans,"  etc. 

"The  book  is  as  full  of  correct,  imijartial,  well-digested,  and 
•well-presented  information  as  an  egg  is  of  meat.  One  can  only 
recommend  it  heartily  and  without  reserve  to  all  who  wish  to  gain 
an  insight  into  German  life.  It  worthily  presents  a  great  nation, 
now  the  greatest  and  strongest  in  'Europe."— Commercial  Adveriiser. 

III.— RUSSIAN   LIFE   IN  TOWN   AND  COUNTRY 

By  Francis  H.  E.  Palmer,  sometime  Secretary  to 
H.  H.  Prince  Droutskop-Loubetsky  (Equerry  to 
H.  M.  the  Emperor  of  Russia). 

"  We  would  recommend  this  above  all  other  works  of  its  charao 
ter  to  those  seeking  a  clear  general  understanding  of  Russian  life, 
character,  and  conditions,  but  who  have  not  the  leisure  or  inclinar 
tion  to  read  more  voluminous  tomes.  ...  It  cannot  be  too  highly 
recommended,  for  it  conveys  practically  all  that  well-informed 
people  should  know  of  'Our  European  Neighbours.'  "—Mail  and 
Express. 


Our  European  Neighbours 


IV.— DUTCH  LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 

By  P.  M.  Hough,  B.A. 

•'  There  is  no  other  book  which  gives  one  so  clear  a  picture  of 
actual  life  in  the  Netherlands  at  the  present  date.  For  its  accurate 
presentation  of  the  Dutch  situation  in  art,  letters,  learning,  and 
politics  as  well  as  in  the  round  of  common  life  in  town  and  city, 
this  book  deserves  the  heartiest  -praise."— Evening  Post. 

"Holland  is  always  interesting,  in  any  line  of  study.  In  this 
work  its  charm  is  carefully  preserved.  The  sturdy  toil  of  the  people, 
their  quaint  characteristics,  their  conservative  retention  of  old  dress 
and  customs,  their  quiet  abstention  from  taking  part  in  the  great 
affairs  of  the  world  are  clearly  reflected  in  this  faithful  mirror.  The 
illustrations  are  of  a  high  grade  of  photographic  reproductions."— 
Washington  Post. 

v.— SWISS  LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 

By  Alfred  T.  Story,  author  of  the  *'  Building  of 
the  British  Empire,"  etc. 

"  We  do  not  know  a  single  compact  book  on  the  same  subject 
in  which  Swiss  character  in  all  its  variety  finds  so  sympathetic  and 
yet  thorough  treatment ;  the  reason  of  this  being  that  the  author 
has  enjoyed  privileges  of  unusual  intimacy  with  all  classes,  which 
prevented  his  lumping  the  people  as  a  whole  without  distinction 
of  racial  and  cantonal  feeling."— 7Va^zo«. 

"There  is  no  phase  of  the  lives  of  these  sturdy  republicans, 
whether  social  or  political,  which  Mr.  Story  does  not  touch  upon ; 
and  an  abundance  of  illustrations  drawn  from  unhackneyed  sub- 
jects adds  to  the  value  of  the  hoo)s.:' —Chicago  Dial. 

VI.— SPANISH  LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 

By  L.  HiGGiN. 

"Illuminating  in  all  of  its  chapters.  She  writes  in  thorough 
sympathy,  bom  of  long  and  intimate  acquaintance  with  Spanish 
people  of  to-day."— 5^.  Paul  Press. 

"The  author  knows  her  subject  thoroughly  and  has  written  a 
most  admirable  volume.  She  writes  with  genuine  love  for  the 
Spaniards,  and  with  a  sympathetic  knowledge  of  their  character 
and  their  method  of  Vd^."— Canada  Methodist  Review. 


Our  European  Neighbours 


VII.— ITALIAN  LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 

By    LUIGI   ViLLARI. 

"  A  most  interesting  and  instructive  volume,  which  presents  an 
intimate  view  of  the  social  habits  and  manner  of  thought  of  the 
people  of  which  it  treats." — Buffalo  Express. 

"  A  book  full  of  information,  comprehensive  and  accurate.  Its 
numerous  attractive  illustrations  add  to  its  interest  and  value.  We 
are  glad  to  welcome  such  an  addition  to  an  excellent  series."—' 
Syracuse  Herald. 


VIII.— DANISH  LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 

By  Jessie  H.  Brochner. 

"  Miss  Brochner  has  written  an  interesting  book  on  a  fascinat- 
ing subject,  a  book  which  should  arouse  an  interest  in  Denmark  in 
those  who  have  not  been  there,  and  which  can  make  those  who 
know  and  are  attracted  by  the  country  very  homesiek  to  return." — 
Commercial  Advertiser. 

"  She  has  sketched  with  loving  art  the  simple,  yet  pure  and 
elevated  lives  of  her  countrymen,  and  given  the  reader  an  excellent 
idea  of  the  Danes  from  every  point  of  view."— CA/ca^o  Tribune. 


IX.— AUSTRO=HUNGARIAN  LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND 
COUNTRY 

By  Francis   H,  E.  Palmer,  author  of  **  Russian 
Life  in  Town  and  Country,"  etc. 

"  No  volume  in  this  interesting  series  seems  to  us  so  notable  o* 
valuable  as  this  on  Austro-Hungarian  life.  Mr.  Palmer's  long  resi- 
dence in  Europe  and  his  intimate  association  with  men  of  mark, 
especially  in  their  home  life,  has  given  to  him  a  richness  of  experi- 
ence evident  on  every  page  of  the  book." — The  Outlook. 

"This  book  cannot  be  too  warmly  recomnvended  to  those  who 
have  not  the  leisure  or  the  spirit  to  read  voluminous  tomes  of  this 
subject,  yet  we  wish  a  clear  general  understanding  of  Austro-Hun» 
%sxi3Xi.\\i^," —Hartford  Times, 


Our  European  Neighbours 


X.— TURKISH  LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 

By  L.  M.  J.  Garnett. 

*"■  The  general  tone  of  the  book  is  that  of  a  careful  study,  the 
style  is  flowing,  and  the  matter  is  presented  in  a  bright,  taking 
way."— 5^.  Paul  Press. 

"To  the  average  mind  the  Turk  is  a  little  better  than  a  blood- 
thirsty individual  with  a  plurality  of  wives  and  a  paucity  of  vir- 
tues. To  read  this  book  is  to  be  pleasantly  disillusioned."— /^Wiic 
Opinton. 


XI BELGIAN  LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 

By  Demetrius  C.  Boulger 

"  Mr.  Boulger  has  given  a  plain,  straight-forward  account  of 
the  several  phases  of  Belgian  I,ife,  the  government,  the  court,  the 
manufacturing  centers  and  enterprises,  the  literature  and  science, 
the  army,  education  and  religion,  set  forth  informingly." — The 
Detroit  Free  f^ess. 

"  The  book  is  one  of  real  value  conscientiously  written,  and 
well  illustrated  by  good  photographs. "— 7%*?  Outlook, 


XIL— SWEDISH  LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 

By  G.  VON  HeidensTam. 

"As  we  read  this  interesting  book  we  seem  to  be  wandering 
through  this  land,  visiting  its  homes  and  schools  and  churches, 
studying  its  government  and  farms  and  industries,  and  observing 
the  dress  and  customs  and  amusements  of  its  healthy  and  happy 
people.  The  book  is  delightfully  written  and  beautifully  illus- 
trated."— Presbyterian  Bannet. 

"In  this  intimate  account  of  the  Swedish  people  is  given  a 
more  instructive  view  of  their  political  and  social  relations  than  it 
has  been  the  good  fortune  of  American  readers  heretofore  to  ob- 
tain."— IVashingion  Even.  Star. 


Our  Asiatic  Neighbours 


12  o.    Illustrated.    Each,  net  $1.20 
By  mail     *       •       •  •    1*30 


I^INDIAN  LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 

By  Herbert  Compton. 

"  Mr.  Compton 's  book  is  the  best  book  on  India,  its  life  and  its 
people,  that  has  been  published  in  a  long  time.  The  reader  will 
find  it  more  descriptive  and  presenting  more  facts  in  a  way  that 
appeals  to  the  man  of  English  speech  than  nine-tenths  of  the 
volumes  written  by  travellers.     It  sets  forth  the  experiences  of  a 

Suarter  of  a  century,  and  in  that  period  a  man  can  learn  a  good 
eal,  even  about  an  alien  people  and  civilization,  if  he  keeps  his 
eyes  open.  If  the  other  volumes  in  the  series  are  as  good  as 
'  Indian  Life  in  Town  and  Country '  it  will  score  a  decided  suc- 
cess."— Brooklyn  Eagle. 

"  An  account  of  native  life  in  India  written  from  the  point  of  view 
of  a  practical  man  of  affairs  who  knows  India  from  long  residence. 
It  is  bristling  with  information,  brisk  and  graphic  in  style,  and 
open-minded  and  sympathetic  in  feeling."— Cleveland  Leader. 


II.— JAPANESE  LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 

By  George  William  Knox,  D.D. 

"  The  childlike  simplicity,  yet  innate  complexity  of  the  Japanese 
temperament,  the  strangely  mingled  combination  of  new  ?jnd  old, 
important  and  worthless,  poetic  and  commercial  instincts,  aims, 
and  ambitions  now  at  work  in  the  land  of  the  cherry  blossom  are 
well  brought  out  by  Dr.  Knox's  conscientious  representation.  The 
book  should  be  widely  read  and  studied,  being  eminently  reason- 
able, readable,  reliable,  and  informative."— J^ecord-Herald. 

"  A  delightful  book,  all  the  more  welcome  because  the  ablest 
scholar  in  Japanese  Confucianism  that  America  has  yet  produced 
has  here  given  us  impressions  of  man  and  nature  in  the  Archi- 
pelago. "•^£z'<?«zm^  Bosi. 


Our  Asiatic  Neighbours 

III.— CHINESE   LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 

By  E.  Bard.     Adapted  by  H.  TwiTCHEI,!*. 

Every  phase  of  Chinese  life  is  touched  on,  explained,  and  made 
clear  in  this  volume.  The  nation's  customs,  its  traits,  its  religion, 
and  its  history,  are  all  outlined  here,  and  the  book  should  be  of 
gnreat  value  in  arriving  at  a  better  understanding  of  a  people  and  a 
country  about  which  there  has  been  so  much  misconception.  The 
illustrations  add  greatly  to  the  value  of  the  book. 

IV.— AUSTRALIAN  LIFE  IN  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 

By  E.  C.  BuivDY. 

A  bright,  readable  description  of  life  in  a  fascinating  and  little- 
known  country.  The  style  is  frank,  vivacious,  entertaining,  cap- 
tivating, just  the  kind  for  a  book  which  is  not  at  all  statistical, 
political,  or  controversial. 

V PHILIPPINE  LIFE  IN  TOWN   AND  COUNTRY 

By  James  A.  LeRoy. 

Mr.  LeRoy  is  eminently  fitted  to  write  on  life  in  the  Philip- 
pines. He  was  for  several  years  connected  with  the  Department  of 
the  Interior  in  the  Philippine  Government,  when  he  made  a 
special  investigation  of  conditions  in  the  islands.  Since  his  return 
he  has  continued  his  studies  and  is  already  known  as  an  author- 
ity on  the  Philippines.  His  book  gives  a  full  description  of  life 
among  the  native  tribes,  and  also  in  the  Spanish  and  American 
communities. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below, 
or  on  the  date  to  which  renewed.  Renewals  only: 

Tel.  No.  642-3405 
Renewals  may  be  made  4  days  jjrior  to  date  due. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 

Due  end  of  SPI^rNG  Quartsr  T^to      7" 

subject  to  recaH  after-       ^'^Y    21    /<5  1  5 


BECDCe   JUN    9  73-2PM54 


■mt — Hrt* 


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(Q8677sl0)476-A-31 

^H7452si0)476B 


General  Library 

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